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HISTORICAL SKETCHES 



Old Vincennes 



FOUNDED IN 1732 



WSTITUTIONS AND CHURCHES, EMBRACING COLLATERAL 
INCIDENTS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF 
MANY PERSONS AND El'ENTS CON- 
NECTED THEREfFITH 



BY 

HUBBARD MADISON SMITH, M. D. 



VINCENNES, INDIANA 

October, 1902 



IMfeLlbKAftVOF 1 
COMGRtSS. 1 


DEC 29 


1902 


CLASS ^ 

u- r / 


tntry 

XXcN*. 
t € 
B. 



Copyright, 1902. 
Hubbard Madison Smith, M. D. 



Pt,$i» Vm. B. VurforJ, 
tmdianatalii. 



Table of Contents. 



Chapter I. 

PAGE 

First Missions and Settlement of Vincenues 11 



Chapter n. 

Campaign and Capture oi Fort^ Sackville by George 

Rogers Clark 32 

Chapter III. 

Date of Erection of Fort by Morgan Sieiir de Vinceiuies 

— Fort's Removal — Camp Knox 57 

Chapter IV. 

Establishment of First Courts — Knox County Named — 
First Court House Built — Town of Viucennes Organ- 
ized—Old Town Hall Built — City Chartered — Its 
Commons Lands — Officers of City 74 

Chapter V. 

Schools: University of Vincennes — St. Gabriel's College 
— St. Rose Academy — Common Schools — Sisters of 
Providence — Parochial 91 

Chapter \T;. 

Churches: St. Xavier Catholic — St. John's German Cath- 
olic — Presbyterian — Methodist Episcopal — Episcopal 
— Baptist — Christian — Cumberland Presbyterian — 
German-Protestant — St. John's Lutheran — St. John's 
Evangelical 117 

-5- 



Chapter Vll. 

Biograpliical Sketches : Francois Morgan Sieur de Vin- 
cennes — Colont'l George Rogers Tlark — Reverend 
Pierre Gibaalt — Colonel Francis Vigo — Francis Bus- 
seron 

Chapter MJI. 

Biographical Sketches, Continued: Governor "William 
Henry Harrison— General Zachary Taylor — Jolin Duf- 
field Hay — Nathaniel Ewing — Samuel Judah — Nich- 
olas Smith — Cyrus M. Allen — Jolin Wise — Andrew 
Gardner — L. L. Watson — J. L. Coleman — William 
Burtch — John Law 

Chapter IX. 

Societies: Masonic — I. (). (). F. — Knights of Pythias — 
Grand Army of the Rejiublic — Ben-Hur^Lodge — Elks 
— Red Men — Catholic Knights — Medical — Bar Associ- 
ation , 

Chapter X. 

Miscellaneous : The Press — University Library — Catholic 
Churdi Library- — City Library — Banks — Board of 
Trade — Epidemics — Indian Mounds 

Chai'TER XI. 

Governor Harrison's Residence — His Pow-wow with Te- 
cumseh — Battle of Tippi'canoe 



Chapter Xn. 

Clubs: Pastime — Fortnightly — Gibault Reading — Pal- 
ace. Old Houses: American Hotel — Prison — Cotton 
Factory — Bonner Mansion — Park- Wise Mansion.. 

Chapter XUI. 

Facts and legends : Pojmlat ion— First Tlieatn — The Old 
Ferry — Primeval Conveyances — The "Old Trysting 
Boulder" — "Alice of old Vincennes" — Conclusion.. 



Table of Illustrations. 



PAGE 

Hubbard Madison Smith, M. D Frontispiece 

Fort Sackville 58 

Map showing Location of Fort Knox after its removal 67 

Camp Knox 71 

Old Town Hall 79 

John Badollet 82 

Vincennes University 90 

Old St. Xavier Catholic Church 118 

New St. Xavier Catholic Cathedral 125 

Presbyterian Church 127 

Methodist Episcopal Church 132 

General George Rogers Clark 145 

Reverend Pierre Gibault 156 

Colonel Francis Vigo 161 

Governor William Henry Harrison 169 

General Zachary Taylor 174 

Nathaniel Ewing 184 

John Wise 187 

Parke-Wise Residence 188 

Samuel Judah 190 

Cyrus M. Allen 201 

Old American Hotel 250 

Old Cotton Mill 254 

Governor William Henry Harrison's Residence 259/ 



7- 



Letter of Introduction, 



Tlu' lt'thjn-;.'y that has possosstnl the pt^ople in regard to the 
incidents connevted witli the early history of Vincennes seems to 
have Iteen happily disp»'lled l>y tliat superb liistorii-al romance en- 
titled. "Alice of Old Vincennes." by the lamented and gifted 
author. Maurice Thompson; and, from general intiniry. ii contri- 
l)Ution on the subject, it is presumed, would be accei)talile to 
many who fake an interest in it. 

No otlier part of tlie territory of oin* vast domain can claim 
gi-eater interest tlian it does, considering the contentions for it, 
and the momentous restilts mat have followt d its comiuest. Hence, 
believing this to be an opportune time to give the puldic a .suc- 
cinct and as correct a history as is possilde with the materials 
known to exist at this l.-ite day. I have ventureil to assume tlie 
task. 

In dealing with the ni.iin sjibject. collateral m:itters more or 
less connect»>d have been treated of and statisticil information 
given that sliould be interesting to all Imlianians. .-md more espe- 
cially to Vincemies people. The mists of time have been gradu- 
ally covering froni sight and memory many interesting views and 
facts of early years in this region, and. if not rescued now and 
made a matter of record, they will soon be lost forever. If, in my 
efforts to winnow from tradition and isolated records I have 
rescued but a few facts and items of interest from oblivion, I 
will consider my task of research not to have been in vain. 

The autlior appreciates th*' enctmraging words from friends 
in Ills labor to settle points of doubtful authenticity regar<li!ig 
Old Vincennes: and he is ('specially under oblig:itions to the Hon. 
Charles (i. McCord, for facts gleantnl from the records of our 
Courts, and Hon. Robert W. Miers, M. C. and Hon. Charles M. 
Staley. of the Kngineering Department United States Army, 
Washington. D. ('., for facts in the Government's iirchives, and to 
the Hon. .Jacob V. nimn. Secretary Indiana Historical Society, 
for data relating to the early settlement of Vincennes. through 
Hon. .John K. Gowdy. United States Consid-iJeneral. Paris, 
France; jind to .Mr. KIbiidge (Jardner, an octogenarian ;ind native 
of Vincennes; Mrs. Klizalieth .\mlre, now in her ninety-third year, 
and Mr. Vital Botichie. in his ninety-second year of age. 

HUIUIAUI) M. SMITH, M. I>. 
Vincenn«-s. Ind.. Uctolier, VMf2. 



Preface. 



The attempt to give in a .succinct manner a truttifiil liistory of 
Vincennes from its first settlement lias been a difficult one, since 
so iew authentic records of facts exist; and any one essaying 
it must rely upon facts gleaned here and there, and from un- 
certain traditions to make a connected whole. This statement 
should not l)e wondered at, since more than a century and a half 
of time presents itself as the tield from which the grains of truth 
must be gathered, often from the chaff of hearsay. Hence, the 
task at the start assumed herculean proportions, and, if mis- 
takes are not made, the gleaner must be considered infallible as 
to opportunities in gathering facts. And, if preconceived opinions 
are antagonized and cherished mythical images be shattered by 
stern and rugged facts, the possessors of them must draw con- 
solation from the thought that myths of traditions are ephemeral, 
while truths must abide. 



-9- 



Letter of Dedication. 



Tu thf Viiii'eintfx Ilintoriral Sorietti: 

Nearly throe years ago you were kind and complimentary 
enough to invite me to read a paper before your body on the 
history of Old Vincennes. My reply was that I was then not 
familiar enough with the subject to furnish you any valuable in- 
formation about it, but that I would write a paper on "Vincennes 
and Its rciipli- as I Knew Them Fifty Years Ago," which I did; 
and the effort was flatteringly received and published by the local 
press. The commendation given that paper was the inspiration 
for an investigation of the founding of the town, and the result 
has been the production of the present volume, after much 
thought and research. It embraces, I believe, valuable informa- 
tion and Incidents not hitherto published in consecutive and 
permanent form suitable for libraries, and which I now take the 
liberty of dedicating to your honorable body. 

Your most obetlient co-worker, 

HUBB.\i:i» M.VDISON SMITH. M. D. 

Vincennes, Ind.. October, VM)2. 



-10- 



Chapter I. 

OLD VINCENNES— ITS SETTLEMENT. 

The historian in his disposition must be patient of labor, persevering, inflexible in his love 
of truth and justice, and free from every prejudice. — Mosheim. 

VIXCENNES is situated on the site of the old 
Che-pe-ko-ke, Piankeshaw Indian village, on the 
east bank of the Wabash river, one hundred and 
fifty-one miles east of St. Louis, Mo. ; one hundred and 
ninetv-two miles west from Cincinnati, Ohio ; one hun- 
dred and seventeen miles southwest of Indianapolis, and 
about fifty miles from Evansville, on the Ohio river, 
south, and Terre Haute on the Upper Wabash to the 
north ; being so centrally located between the leading cities 
named, studded with railroads reaching in all directions, 
it occupies an ideal location for a large city in the coming 
near future. 

The site on which Vincennes is situated seems to have 
been a favorite location for the habitation of the human 
race for many hundred years, its beginning reaching far 
back into the distant past, and how ii^any will never be 
known. From the heaps of shells, some even from the 
seashore, and skeletons found in this vicinity, some his- 
torians have suggested that the first race of inhabitants 
here were the Eishers, and the next the Mound Builders, 
as is evidenced by the many mounds in the immediate 
vicinity, and others scattered over a large area in the 
county. Then followed the Red Men, who continued to 

(11) 



12 HISTOHICAL SKKTCIIKS 

occupy it until dispossessed hv the stronger, more 
enlightened Caucasian race. 

This location, being so ideal in character, surrounded 
by beautiful forests, wide-spreading prairies, abounding in 
game, from gr(Hise to buffalo, and dotted over in the 
summer season with its myriads of gorgeous flowers, like 
the stars of the firmament; broad savannas bordered by 
the gently flowing crystal waters of the placid Wabash 
river, swarming with the finny tribe, was well calculated 
to appeal strongly to less a-sthetic tastes than those char- 
acteristic of the higher civilization of the Europeans. But 
it is not the purpose of the author to try to solve the 
question of the time of the first oc'c»ii)ation of this place 
prehistorically, and by whom, but to seek a soluti<m of 
the questions, when Avas the first advent of the white race 
to the l*iankeshaw Indian village, Che-pe-ko-ke,* and the 
time when Vincennes was founded. 

The date of the first settlement or founding of Vin- 
cennes has l)een a mooted question t'<»r many years, owing 
to the inaccessibility <tf the earliest records concerning 
the subject, they being located in Paris, France, and the 
number of years intervening since its occurrence. The dis 
cussions have been many, often based upon misconceptions 
receive*! from various sources of information, hence tra- 
ditions have been, in many instances, recorded as veritaltjc 
history. Then, in seeking solutions of tlu^ i)robl('m pre- 
sented, rec<»rded facts must be relied on as far as they 
exist, as bases, aided by reason and corroborating circum- 
stances germane to the question, and by legitimate infer- 
ences. 



"MeniiiiiK Ilrimhwood, in Knitlish. 



OLD VINCENNES. 13 

In discussing the first settlement of Vincennes we must 
enter upon it dispassionately and without prejudice pro- 
duced by preconceived opinions formed on misinformation, 
and statements made should not rest upon the ipse dixit 
of any one, but should have for their bases well-authenti- 
cated facts, not traditions. 

''To hold their claim upon the Mississippi valley the 
French, in 1702, determined to establish some posts along 
the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and M. Juchereau did 
erect a fort at the mouth of the Ohio. Some writers have 
attempted to claim that Vincennes was the site of this 
fort, but the records oppose such a view."* 

In his Memoirs (to the French Government) in 1702 
De Iberville asked possession of the River Ohio, and that 
the Illinois Indians might be colonized. He said: ''The 
Illinois, having been removed, I could cause it to be 
occupied by the Mascoutens and Kickapoos. Very little 
of these removals occurred as planned, but one tribe of 
the Mascoutens came to the mouth of the River Ohio and 
settled near the fort."f 

After Lamotte Cadillac founded a permanent settle- 
ment at Detroit and about the close of the year 1702 the 
Sieur Juchereau, a Canadian officer, assisted by the mis- 
sionary, Mermet, made an attempt to establish a post on 
the Ohio near the mouth of the river.:}: The contentions, 
that Vincennes was the objective point of Sieur Juchereau 
and his Canadian settlers is disproved in many ways, the 
error occurring through earl}^ writers in using the name 
of the Wabash for the Ohio river. Judge Law, in his his- 

■' W. H. Smith's Hist. Ind., p. 12. 

t Minn. Hist. Society, Vol. I, pp. 341-34.^ 

t Dillon Hist. Ind., p. 21. 



14 IIISTOKK'AL SKKTCIIKS 

torical sketch of earlv Vincennes, made this mistake by 
misinterpreting the letter of November 9, 1712, written 
by Father !Marest, then stationed at Ka^kaskia, in which 
he said : "The French, having lately established a fort on 
the River Wabash, demanded a missionary, and Father 
Mermet was sent them.''* That this letter referred to the 
Ohio, instead of the Wabash river, will be demonstrated. 
This statement of Law conflicts M'^h'thti. claim of the 
authors claiming 11*02 as the time that a missionary first 
came to this point with Jnchereau. If one had come in 
1702, why the request of ^farest to send a missionary in 
1712, when it is said Mermet came here? From the fact 
that up to the middle of the eighteenth century the 
Wabash river was regarded as the main stream and the 
Ohio as its tributary, much confusion follows in describing 
localities, Tn alluding to this matter of locations of 
Juchereau's ]iosts, established in 1702 (at the mouth of 
the Ohio river), Dunn says: **It is unquestionable. 
Its complete history is preserved in contemporary official 
documents. It was abandoned three years after it was es- 
tablished and existed only as a landmark."f 

The Mascoutens and the Prairie Indians, having been 
gathered about the fort of Juchereau, Father Mermet was 
sent to them at the instance of Charlevoix In- Father 
Marest, who was in charge of the mission at Kaskaskia. 
He immediately engaged in the work of spreading the 
Gospel among the Indians. The following is Father 
Mermet's statement of his labors: "The way I took was 
to confound, in the presence of the whole tribe, the Char- 

* Law's Hilt. Vinceones, p. 12. 

t Dunn InfJ. .Mbr. West. Hist., Veil. XII, p. ST9. Magazine of .\mer. Ili»t., 
XXII, p. 1<3. 



OLD VINCENNES. 15 

latan, whose Manitou or Great Spirit which he worshipped 
was a buffalo. After leading him insensibly to the avowal 
that it was not a bnft'alo that he worshipped, but the Mani- 
tou or Spirit which animated all buffaloes, which heals 
the sick and has all power, I asked him if all other beasts, 
the bear, for instance, and which some of his nation wor- 
shipped, was not equally inhabited by a 'Manitou,' which 
was under the earth ?" "Without doubt," said the grand 
medicine chief. "If this is so," said the missionary, "men 
■ought to have a Manitou who inhabits them." "Nothing 
more certain," said the medicine man. "Then, ought not 
that to convince you," said the Father, pushing his argu- 
ment, "that you are not very reasonable ? For, if man upon 
the earth is master of all animals, if he kills them, if he 
eats them, does it not follow that the Manitou which 
inhabits him must necessarily have a mastery over all 
other Manitous ? Why, then, do you not make him, instead 
■of the Manitou of the buffalo and bear, your Manitou 
when you are sick?" "This reasoning," says the Father, 
"disconcerted the Charlatan," but, like other good logic in 
the world, I am sorry to add, in his own words, this was 
all the effect it produced.* 

While Father Mermet was at this post, established at 
the mouth of the Ohio river, "a pestilential malady soon 
broke out among the Indians who were settled around it, 
and, notwithstanding the kind offices of the missionary, 
they died in great numbers. With the hope of arresting 
the progress of the fatal epidemic, the Indians determined 
to make a great sacrifice of dogs. Forty of these animals, 
innocent as they were of the epidemic, to satisfy their 

•Dillon's Hist. Ind., pp. 21, 22. 



k; iiistohkal skktchks 

suspicions Mauitou, were iimiK»late<l and carried »>n poles 
in solemn procession around the fort. But as their org;ies 
were of no avail, the Indians soon moved away from the 
place of mortality. Mermet retired to the village of Kas- 
kaskia and Sieur Juchereau abandoned the sickly post."* 

This account of the labors of Father Mermet with the 
Mascoutens, given by himself, corresponds with what 
Father Charlevoix said in relation to the former's labors 
with the Mascoutens at the mouth of the Ohio, at Sieur 
Juchereau's post, who made a trip down the Mississippi 
from Kaskaskia in 1721. He said: ''The labors among 
the Mascoutens met with little success. The Sieur 
Juchereau, a Canadian, had begun a post at the mouth of 
the Ohio, which emptied into the Mississippi, constituting 
the shorter and most convenient communication between 
(^mada and Louisiana, and a great many of the Indians 
had settled here. To retain them he had persuaded 
Father Mermet, one of the Illinois missionaries, to 
endeavor to gain them for Christ, but the missionary 
found an indocile tribe, exceedingly superstitious, and 
desp(»tically ruled by medicine men."+ 

The testimony given by this distinguished and well- 
informed Father, inde]>endent of any other authenticated 
evidence, ought to be considered enough to give a quietus 
to the misstatements in relation to the alleged settlement 
that Sieur Juchereau established a mission or bnilded a 
fort on the site of Vincennes in 1702. 

In ascertaining the time when Vincennes was founded 
the confusion existing in relation to the names of the two 



•Charlevoix Letter. Kil. VI, .^^, Charlevol.\ III-30; Dillon's Hiot. In.l.. pp. 
21-22. 

t Shea's Charlevoix, Vol. V, p. l.iS. 



OLD VINCENNES. 17 

rivers referred to also obtains as to the words, "St. \ in 
cent" and ^'Vincennes," the first being the name of an 
individual and the second being only a title inherited from 
the Bissot family. 

The fief of Vincennes was established in 1672. The 
Sienr de Vincennes, who died in 1719, ^vas Jean Baptiste 
Bissot, the son of the first holder of the fief. * * * 
Louisa Bissot (daughter) married Seraphim Morgane de 
la Valtrie, and her son Francois Morgane (he dropped the 
e final in writing his name) was the founder of Post Vin- 
cennes. * * * Sieur de Vincennes must not be con- 
founded with the members of the St. Vincent family, of 
whom there were two or three in the French service in the 
Xorthwest.* 

Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes, died about the 
year 1717 and his nephew, Pierre (Francois) Morgan, son 
of Louisa Bissot, who obtained an ensign's commission in 
1799, assumed the style of Sieur de Vincennes, and 
retained much of his uncle's influence in the West. He 
was sent to the present Indiana to control the Miamis. He 
erected a post known as Ouiatenon, and about 1735 an- 
other on the Wabash, which took his name — Vincennes. f 

It will be observed that the date, 1717, in the foregoinc^ 
differs by two years from all other writers as to the time- 
of the death of Jean Baptiste Bissot, and differs as to the^ 
time Vincennes founded the post that took his name, mak- 
ing it 1735, when Vincennes' letters from this place, known 
to exist, are dated as early as March, 1733, and from the> 
tenor of them he must have been at the post at least as; 

•■Dunn Hist. Ind., p. 49. 

tShea, " The Hoosier State," in the Catholic News, September 10,, 1890. 

[21 



J8 IIIS'I'OIIICAI. SKKTCIIKS 

early as 1732, as he speaks of the fort and buildings hav- 
ing lately been erected by himself. 

Roy, in Memories <le la Soeietie Royal du C. Canada, 
Section 1, lMtL\ p. .'»!>, has this to say: "Jean Bajjtiste 
adopted the military service as a ])rofession and illustrated 
the name Bissot <le Vincennes. He was the founder of the 
Post Ouiatenon. Jn ITJid he died, burned by the 
Chicachas (Chickasaws). The name of the cai)ital of Indi- 
ana, Vincennes, is l>orro\ved from that officer."* 

This statement is in contradiction of almost all writers 
on the subject. Jean Baptiste Bissot died at the Miami's 
post in 1710, and was not burned at the stake in Louisiana, 
but his nephew, Francois ^lorgan, Sieur de Vincennes, 
did suffer so in 173('» in company with his comman<ler, 
Diron de Artaguette, Father Senat nnd otlicr j)risoners 
captured in battle by the Chickasaw Indians. 

Having discredited the claim that this site was o('euj)ied 
by Europeans in 1702 by the testimony of Law's History, 
page IT), where lie s;ii<l: "Records of the ('atlinjic ( 'Inirch 
here make no menti(»n <»f a missionary until the year 1741>, 
when Father ^leurin came here," and having the testi- 
mony of divers authorities that Sieur Juchereau erected 
his fort at the mouth of the Ohio river, instead of the 
Vincennes site, and that the ^Iissi<^narv ^fermet's labors 
M'ere at the mouth of the Ohio river, 1 will try to show 
the time when the Indian village ( 'he-pe-ko-ke was first 
occu]>iefl by Furo]M>ans. 

The Chronological History of the Fnited States says: 
"1732 — Vincennes founds Vincennes, the first European 
settlement in liidi:nia."f Taking this statement as the 

"Edinuml Miill.t. In<l. M. Soc, p. 5»5. 

t Robert .Tames Bolford, in the N. Y. World'* Chro. Hist. U. S., p. 60. 



OLD VINCENNES. 19 

central point of consideration on the question of the time 
as to when Vincennes was first settled, the testimony lead- 
ing to its establishment will be next presented. 

In relation to the early history of alleged missions and 
forts established here, I quote from the Western Annals, 
a book published in 1851 at St. Louis. The author says: 
"Charlevoix, who records the death of Vincennes in 1736, 
makes no mention of any post on the Wabash, or any mis- 
sion there ; neither does he mark any upon his map, 
although he gives even the British fort upon the Tennes- 
see and elsewhere."* * * * Vivier, in his letters of 
1750, writing from "Aux Illinoix" and Fort Chartres, 
says nothing of any mission on the Wabash, although 
writing in respect to Western missions, and speaks of the 
necessity of a fort upon the Ouabache. How natural to 
refer to the post at Vincennes if one existed. In a volume 
of Memoirs on Louisiana, compiled from the minutes of 
M. Dumont, and published in Paris in 1753, but probably 
prepared in 1749, though we have an account of the 
Wabash, or St. Jerome, as it was called, its rise and course 
and the use made of it by the traders, not a word is found 
touching any fort, settlement or station on it.f Vandriel, 
when Governor of Louisiana, in 1751, mentioned even 
then no post on the Wabash, although he speaks of a need 
of a post on the Ohio near to where Fort Massac was 
built afterwards, and names Fort Miami on the Maumee. 

Mr. Justin Windsor, Librarian of Harvard University, 
one of the late investigators of the settlement of the 
Wabash, says: "The Mississippi Company (a companv of 

=■• A French Jesuit priest, historian and missionary to Canada, who explored 
the western country and the Mississippi river to its mouth. He arrived in Amer- 
ica at St. Joseph, Mich., a trading post, August 8, 1721. 

t Memories Historique Sur Louisiana, etc., 1753-Paris. 



Vn IIISTOIUCAL SKKTi II KS 

traders in pelfrv) had urged, September 15, 1720, the 
Ituilding of a fort on the Wabash as a safeguard against 
the English, and the need of it had attracted the attention 
of ( 'harlcvoix. Some sucli prcc-autiun, indeed, was (juite 
neeessarv to overcome the savages, for now the Wabash- 
Maumee jjortage was coming into favor, the Indians had 
been prowling about it and murdering tlie passers. 

"Til 17J4 La llarpe feared the danger of delay. In 
17-.") the necessity for some s\ich protecti<»n alarmed Bois- 
briant early in the year. * * * ^\^ .^ result, we tind 
the Company of the Indies, Deceud)er. 17:i.">, instnuting 
Boisbriant to beware of the English, and to let M. de Vin- 
cennes, then among the Miamis (who were then included 
in the Canadian provinces, and their j)rincipal settlement 
was at Green Bay, Wis.), know that the rivals were com- 
ing in that direction. The next year the company informed 
Perier (September 30, 1726) of tlieir determination to be 
prepared, and authorized him to concert with Vincennes to 
re])el the English if they approached."* 

Smith says: "There is no correct record of when the 
post of Vincennes was established, but it was j)robably in 
1727. In that year Vincennes and his faithful lieutenant, 
St. Ange, were at Kaskaskia. * * *"f 

The journal of La nar|)e, giving full particulars of the 
occurrences in Illinois and Ouiatenon c<iuntries from H)98 
to 1722, nnikes no mention of any post at Vincennes." 

General TIarmar, who visited the ]>ost in 17>>7, in a let- 
ter to the Secretary of War, says: ''I have been informed 
by the inhabitants that Vincennes had estiiblished a post 
sixty years before. Tliat wi>uld place it at 1727. * * * 

"The Mi.«s. na«in, |.. 148. 

t W. H. Smith's Hist. Ind., p. 18. 



OLD VINCENNES. 21 

In the summer of 1T26 the directors learned that their 
post was not yet established. * * * Efforts had been 
made frequently by this trading company to have a post 
established at this point and had held out pecuniary induce- 
ment to that end^ but had so far failed.* 

"On the Wabash, near the present site of Vincennes, 
was an important Indian village, known as Chip-kaw-kay, 
and it is probable that when the French settlers arrived 
they heard stories of prior visits made by traders, and 
after a lapse of time those traditions became transposed 
into facts relating to the first actual settlement. To hold 
their claim upon the Mississippi valley the French, in 
1702, determined to establish some posts along the Ohio 
and Mississippi rivers, and M. Juchereau did erect a fort 
at the mouth of the Ohio." 

"^1 his same author says, on page 18 of his said work: 
"One of the best evidences that it (a post) was not estab- 
lished in an earlier year, to which the date (172Y) has 
been assigned, lies in the fact that all persons concede that 
it was established by Francois Morgan, Sieur de Vin- 
cennes. He did not succeed to the title until late in the 
year 1719. He was a son of the sister of the elder Sieur de 
Vincennes, and succeeded to the title on the death of his 
uncle, which took place at * * * the Indian village 
on the Maumee. It is very possible that French traders 
had visited the Indian village of Chip-kaw-kay many years 
previously, but the fact is apparent that no settlement was 
made or post established before 1727. Some eight years 
later a number of French families settled there, and it be- 
came the first actual settlement in the State. It was called, 



•Dunn Hist. Ind.,p. 53. 



22 TTISTOlUrAL SKETCHES 

in the first record, 'The Post,' *01d Post,' 'Au Poste,' and 
remained the only settlement of whites in the State until 
after the Revulutionarv war, although a military fort was 
maintained both at the head of the Maumee and at Ouiate- 
non by the French until the country was ceded to Great 
Britain."* 

In a Mem<ur of M. de St. Denis, Commandant, dated 
Natehitoches, Xovember 30, 1731, he says: ''On the 
Ouabache, which has always been neglected, on which, in 
my opinion, by the information I have had, we should be 
the first to form an establishment, for, by report, it is a 
key to the English, by which they would be better able to 
get hold of the Province of Louisiana than any other place 
and to entice away S(une of our tribes. I would advance 
the number needed there, so to speak, to four liundred 
men rather than three."f 

This statement shows that up to this date there was no 
"Post" then established at this })oint on the Oiuibache, 
that is, up to November 30, 1731, and if no post, no mis- 
sion, as they could not exist without protection. 

In Law's History, touching this officer's movements: 
"Vincennes," he says, "was in the service of the Governor 
of Canada as late as 1725. At what time he took posses- 
sion here is not exactly known ; probably somewhere 
about 17S2."X He alludes to a sale recorded at Kaskas- 
kia, January 5, 1735, and says the document styles hira 
"an officer of the troops of the King," and "Commnndani 
an paste (hi Ouahnrhr,^' and he says further, the will of 
Monsieur Philip Longprio. liis fatlicv-in-Liw. dntod "Nfarch 

'Smith's Hist. Ind., p. 12. 
t Ind. Hi!<t. Sticiety. p. 296. 
I Law's Hist. Ind., p. 19. 



OLD VINCENNES. 23 

10, 1735, gives him, among; other things, eight hundred 
and eight pounds of pork, which he wishes kept safe until 
the arrival of Monsieur Vincennes, who was then at the 
post. There are other documents there signed by him as 
a witness in 1733-4, among them one receipt for one 
hundred pistoles, received from his father-in-law on his 
marriage. From all these proofs I think it e\ddent that 
he was here previous to 1733. 

The late Orlan E. Baker, in his article on the ^'History 
of Knox County," says, in reference to the Erench coni- 
mander, Erancois Morgan de Vincennes: "Eor gallant 
conduct at this siege (Detroit) De Vincennes was restored 
to a rank forfeited by a previous disobedience of orders in 
Europe and promoted to a command for the King in Illi- 
nois, and sent by M. de Vandrial, Governor of Canada, to 
Sault Ste. Marie, at which place and Machilamackinac he 
remained until 1732, when under the orders of Longen- 
ville, for the King, he repaired to the command of the 
'Post des Ouabache.' 

"The Ouiatenon settlement was now broken up, and 
the inhabitants removed to the poste."* 

The foregoing corroborates the inference of Law as to 
the advent of Vincennes to this place, and doubtless from 
the period of his arrival, 1732, may be taken as the time 
of the beginning of the settlement or founding of Vin- 
cennes. 

To settle the question, inference lends its aid while con- 
sidering collateral subjects. 

Count Volney, who visited America and was in Vin- 
cennes in 1796, says: "Erom the best information I 

* Hist. Knox County, p. 26. 



24 lIlS'l-oincAL SKi:'l'( IlKS 

couM <»l»raiu troiii tin* iiiliiil>itiiiits, I jiuiiriMl the lirst 
settk'iiicnt was not much earlier than lTr)7s hut ^ivinjr the 
benefit to tlie traditions of some of the ohlest inliahitants, 
the time mi*rlit be as early as 173;')/'* 

That a .lesuit missionary may have been here a few 
years precedinfr the advent <»f M<trpin dv Vineennes is nut 
unlikely, for in December, 1726, there departed nine 
Jesuit priests from France for New Orleans, where there 
were others, making in all twenty-one, to be distrii)uted, l)v 
the order of the Bishop of Quel)ec, in the Province of 
Louisiana. In this distribution we find that the .lesuit 
Father, Pierre D'Outreleau, was assijrneil to tiie Oua- 
baehe, 172<s, and this is the first mention of a priest bein<r 
sent to the Ouabache (except that of Pierre Mermet, who 
was with Sieur Juchereau, who was in fact not here, but 
at the mouth of the Ohio, then called Ouabache, near the 
site of Cairo, among the Mascouten Indians). The 
Father's place of residence is not definitely known. It 
might have been among the Indians on the Tapper Wa- 
bash, at Kaskaskia or at the mouth of the Ohio, until his 
appearance again at Xew Orleans, to which place he had 
started and came near losing his life <^n the way by tlu' 
Indians in l730.-f 

Thc first advent of an itinerant missionary or erratic 
traders could not in a correct sense be called a set- 
tlement, even if the Father and some traders had 
been here previous to 1 732, and it has been shown no post 
had been established here prior to that date. Then it 
becomes necessary to indicate a period to which a settle- 
ment might be reasonably ascribed. 

*" Law'(< Hist, of Vinr-enne!), p. 12; History Knox County, '23fi. 
tDunn Ind. Hist. Society, p. 274; from Sister Madeline HacharJ'a Journal, 
Jfew Orleans. 



OLD VINCENNES. 35 

The arrival of F. Morgan de Vincennes and the trans- 
Iference of the colonists from Ouiatenon (near Lafayette) 
to the Che-pe-ko-ke village in 1732, may be taken as the 
tiine of the beginning of the settlement of this "post," 
•and the subsequent marriage of Commander Vincennes to 
a French hidy, daughter of Philip Longprie, at Kaskaskia, 
;in 1733, but emphasized and gave impetus to the settle- 
ment when he brought his bride to the new nucleus of 
'civilization. Post Ouabache. That the French people of 
■the Indian village so understood that time as the begin- 
yning of the Caucasian settlement, finds corroboration in a 
Teport made to the civil officers of the United States Gov- 
♦ernment in 1790. When Winfield Sargent, Secretary for 
1;he Territories northwest of the Ohio river, was sent here 
ito organize a county (which he called Knox) he found 
:much of the land adjacent was claimed by the villagers, 
•and so reported to the Washington Government, where- 
upon he was requested by the same to ascertain of them 
Tipon what authority they based their rights. A commit- 
tee of the leading settlers answered, in part, as follows in 
"their report: "We beg leave to inform you that their prin- 
cipal reason is, that since the establishment of the country 
"the Commandants have always appeared to be vested with 
the power to give lands ; their founder, M. Vincennes, 
began to give concessions, and all his successors have given 
dots and lands." Signed, "F. Busseron, L. E. Delisle, 
Pierre Gamelon, Pierre Querez, July 3, 1790."* In this 
Teport it is seen that the French villagers claimed that 
F. Morgan de Vincennes was the founder of this settle- 
ment or post. This declaration indicates the commence- 
ment of the French settlement of Vincennes, according to 

"' Letter to Winthrop Sargent; Hist. Knox County, p. 124. 



26 IllSTOKICAL SKETCHES 

the views of the people themselves ; and, hence, the conclu- 
sions, from all the evidence adduced, that the settlement of 
Vincennes canmtt be rightfully placed at an earlier date 
than 1732. 

Since the foregoing was written the President <>f the 
Vincennes University received phot(>gra})hic cupi(^>i (»f two 
letters from the Honorable Jacob P. Dunn, Secretary of 
the Indiana Historical Society, written by the founder of 
Vincennes, dated respectively March 7 and 21, 1733, and 
procured for that society from the French archives by 
Consul-Genera 1 .1. K. (Jowdy, at Paris. These letters are 
timely, as there is an awakening of Tndianians about their 
colonial history, and they add to our scant stock of reliable 
knowledge on the subject. While these letters do not fur- 
nish the exact date of the settlement of Vincennes, they 
come so close to it that they aid us in forming reasonable 
conclusions about it. The infornuition gained through the 
letter of March 7* settles the question of when the first 
fort was built and by whom it was done, and is as follows: 

"March 7, 1733 — Monsieur: To make reply to the 
honor of yours, I will commence by informing you that 
the Ouabache nation is composed of five tribes, which 
includes four villages, of which the least is of sixty men 
bearing arms, and in all about GOO or 700 men, wdiom it 
will be necessary for the good of the service to gather 
together and remove from proximity to the English. Tt 
has been impossible for me to bring together all these 
tribes because I have always lacked merchandise in this 
place. The fort which I have had built is 400 leagues up 
the Ouabache, above the rivers by which the English will 

*■ A«i«lros!<cd prnbohly to the (Sovernor at Detroit, ns no addresd hcHii^ the let- 
ter. Ind. Historic TrsnsnctioD.s, p. 304. 



OLD VINCENNES. 27 

be able to descend and open trade with these tribes. The 
place is well fitted for the location of a large establish- 
ment, which I would have made if I had had the troops. 
In regard to the trade which can be had, it is in furs. It 
is possible to send out from this post every year about 
30,000 skins. That, monsieur, is all the trade that can be 
secured for the present. 

"There has never been so great need of troops at this 
place as at present. The Indians, Illinois as well as 
Miamis and others, are more insolent than they have ever 
been, and that since the Foxes have been overthrown. The 
little experience I have acquired in the twenty years I 
have been with them makes me fear some bad return from 
these nations, especially mine, which sees an establishment 
that I have begun and which there has appeared no desire 
to continue in the past three years. The only thing that 
can come in the meantime, monsieur, is the loss to us of 
all the tribes, both of the lakes and of other places. 

"You have done me the honor to ask me to send you a 
statement of the works finished and to be constructed. 
There is only a fort and two houses in it, and there should 
at once be built a guard-room with barracks for lodging 
the soldiers. It is not possible to remain in this place with 
so few troops. I will need thirty men with an officer. I 
am more embarrassed than ever in this place by the war 
with the Chickasaws, who have come here twice since 
spring. It is only twelve days since the last party brought 
in three persons, and as it is the French who have put the 
tomahawk in their hands, I am obliged to be at expense 
continually. I hope of your kindness that you will give 
special attention to this place and to the trouble wliieh I 



'^x iiisToKU AL >ivi:Tiiii:s 

experience, as well for myself as fur the little jrarris(Hi that 
I have. It is a favor expected of yon by him who has the 
honor to be with profonnd res])eet., monsienr, yonr very 
Iniiuble and obedient servant, 

-VIXCKXXKS, 
'•Of the Fort of the Onabachc, this lilst day of March, 
1733." 

^r. de Vincennes speaks of ''the fort I have built," etc. 
A^ain he says: "^fonsienr, yon asked me to send yon a 
statement of the amount of the work tinislicd and to be 
eonstrnctod. There is only a fort and two honses in it, 
and there should at once be built a jzuani-nMiiii, with a 
barracks f(»r loduinir the soldiers. It is not possible to 
remain in this place with so few troops. I will need thirty 
men with an oificer." This statement indicates that he 
liad been at this point not exceeding a year, and that he 
felt insecnre, althoup:h he had a fort ; then how conld it be 
reasonably supposed that a mission had existed there 
previously, as the work ciniinienced had not been coni- 
pleted ( In the letter he alludes to the time of his service 
afrainst the Indians, which serves, indirectly, to fix the 
time of his advent in Che-pe-ko-ke village. He says: ''The 
little experience I have acquired in the hrenfif years I 
have been with them, mnkes me fear some bad returnsfrom 
these natives," (>tc. lie sjieaks of his small force, and 
«ays: "The Chickasaws are menacing me, having been to 
the post twice since sprinje:." All of which goes to show 
that he had not fully established himself and felt insecure 
in ^March, 1733, and had l)een there only a short time. It 
is stated that in May, 1712, at the instigation of the 
English interests in Xew York, a desjierate attemj^t was 



OLD VINCENNES. 3^^ 

made to destroy the fort near Detroit. Two villages of 
the Mascoutens and Ongatagniers had been established and 
fortified within a pistol shot of the French garrison. The 
Indians had determined to annihilate the posts and called 
to aid two large bands to help them. On the 13th of May, 
1712, Francois Morgan de Vincennes arrived with seven 
or eight Frenchmen. That night a Hnron came into the 
fort and announced that the Potawattomie war chief 
desired to counsel with the French, and would meet them 
at the old Huron fort. Vincennes went over and was told 
that six hundred men from the villages upon the St. 
Jerome (Wabash) would soon arrive and help the garrison. 
Upon Vincennes' return Duboison, the Commander, at 
once closed the fort and prepared for a siege. The next 
day Duboison ascended a bastion and casting his eye 
toAvard the woods, saw the army of the natives of the 
south issuing from it. They were the Illinois, Missouris, 
Osages and other natives yet more remote. The battle 
began at once, etc., resulting in a victory for the French 
and their allies.* This quotation is introduced to show 
the time M. de Vincennes arrived in Detroit. ISTow, bear 
in mind the statement, in his letter of March 7, 1733, 
when he speaks of his dealing with the Indians twenty 
years; and, adding that number of years to the year of his 
arrival in Detroit, 1712, and we have the year 1732 as 
the time of his advent here. 

The French King decided to establish two posts in 1731 
— one at Illinois and one "at the Ouabache," "to com- 
mence July 1, 1731. "f Let it be remembered that Com- 
mander M. de St. Denis, Commandant at Natchitoches, 



" Duboison's Diary, p. 2. 

t Ind. Hist. Society Publications, p. 297 (1902). 



30 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

as late as Xoveniber 30, 1731, deplored the fact that no 
establishiiieut had been erected up to that time <»u the 
Ouabache, and the <tnly evidence to show that a post was 
coninienced that year is the half-yearly allowance made to 
the officers from July 1 of that year (1731). From the 
tinie the edict was issued to the tiuie the same would reach 
M. de Vincennes, would be probably six months, and then 
the year 1732 W(»ul(l have been ushered in, but the officers 
would rightfully draw half-pay for that year, which they 
did. The allowance for salaries for one-half a year is not 
positive evidence that Vincennes arrived here in 1731. 
The presumption is that his orders did not arrive i)efore 
January 1, 1732. In 1732 the first full year's salary was 
allowed. rakiua into consideration the fact of the little 
work done on the fort and buildings up to March, 1733, as 
given in the late published letters of Vincennes in connec- 
tion with the one given by St. Denis (that no fort had been 
established in 1731), just stated, the legitimate conclusion 
to be drawn from them is that the year 1732 is the earliest 
date of the founding of Vincennes. 

The foregoing facts and arguments set forth about the 
first European settlement in Indiana ought to be consid- 
ered sufficient ]»rtM>f as to the ]ieriod Vincennes was first 
settled. The French government occupied the country 
until Canada an<l the Northwest Territory were ceded to 
Great Britain at the conclusion of their war, 17fi3, when 
it became a bone of contention between the latter govern- 
ment and the federal colonies of North America. It 
proved to be a point rich in splendid results, and a prize 
worthy of the most astute diplomacy and consummate 
strategy and ]>rowess in warfare, and the contention for it 



OLD VINCENNES. 31 

culminated, finally, on Eebruary 25, 1779, when it passed 
under the control of the State of Virginia, through the 
agency of Colonel George Rogers Clark, whose skill and 
daring had not been surpassed by any military officer in 
American history. The subject is full of interesting inci- 
dents, but to enter upon a more elaborate history would 
require the presentation of more facts and statistics than 
would be profitable or interesting to the casual inquirer. 
Francois Morgan de Vincennes, military commander, 
having taken possession of Che-pe-ko-ke late in 1731, or 
early in 1732^ a stockade and two houses were built for 
defenses against the attack of the Indians, and as a protec- 
tion to the traders. He remained in command here until 
1736, when he was ordered by the French Governor of 
Detroit to join M. D'Artegette in his campaign against the 
Chickasaw Nation with a force to be sent from ISTew 
Orleans ; but owing to mishaps, the forces did not form 
a junction, according to instructions, and the commander 
made the attack with his own troops and was defeated, 
captured and burned. For his heroism in the battle he, it 
was said, was sainted by his church, and the post chris- 
tened ''Post St. Vincennes," and was so called until the 
simple name of Vincennes was adopted. About the year 
1749, the fort's name became that of Fort St. Ange, 
in honor of the successor of Vincennes in command of the 
post, he having, it is said, improved the church and placed 
on it a belfry and bell. 



Chapter II. 

CLARK'S CAMPAIGN. 

COLONEL GEOJIGE JiOOERS ( LAUK, liaviu- 
been sent out by Governor Patrick Henrv, of Vir- 
ginia, with a small army of Virginia and Kentucky 
volunteers, to capture the outposts of (treat Britain in this 
part of the Northwest Territory, and having succeeded in 
capturing Kaskaskia, on the Kaskaskia river, her greatest 
str()nghf)ld in 1778, mostly by boldness an«l strategy, he 
conceived the idea of making a dash for the seizure of 
Vincennes, having learned of its weak condition and the 
friendliness of the citizens of the village through a resi- 
dent priest (»f Kaskaskia. To this end he sent there Fathi-r 
Pierre Gibault, the priest, an intelligent gentkMiiiin. wliom 
he had foimd to be friendly t<> America, to ascertain the 
obstacles to be overcome in the accomplishment of the 
scheme. The priest assured him that altliough secular 
matters did not jtertain to his calling, yet if the Crdonid 
wiiuM (••miiiiit the wlioh- iiiaticr t<> liiiii, there nee(l l»e no 
furtlier uneasiness, for he might give them such spiritual 
advice as woidd do the business. Accordingly, on July 14, 
177S, Father Gibault, with Dr. LaFonte, C'ivil ^[agistrate ; 
Captain Leonard Helm. ve])resenting the military, and 
Aloses ITeurv, Interjtreter and Envoy, were sent to \'in- 
cennes, and the peaceful reduction of the fort was under- 
taken. Fort Sackville was then garrisoned by the militia 
under St. !^^ar^a Racine. Governor Al>bi>tt lia<l g<me to 

-32- 



OLD VINCI-:XXES. 33 

Detroit the month before to assure the military officer 
there that the rumored demonstrations from the Ohio Ijor- 
der must prove futile. 

The commissioners of ('lark, havino' arrived at the vil- 
lage, and communicated with the traders and citizens, a 
meetinc,' vas called at the church, the time seeming pro- 
pitious for a coiip (Vetdf, and on the Gth of August Francis 
Busseron, the Mayor, to whom the priest had imparted an 
account of what had occurred in Illinois, and the purpose 
of the visit to Vincennes, arose in the church, at the close 
of the services, and in the presence of the detained audi- 
ence, interrogated the liolv Father so skillfully concerning 
the power of the arms of Virginia and the justice of the 
cause of the colonies against England that all the assembly 
were at once inclined to make friends with the new power. 
"Then," said Busseron, "why delay ^ Let us show him 
that we are his friends, and if Virginia will receive us, let 
us become her subjects."* LaFonte said that he was au- 
th((rized to accept their allegiance and to pledge them the 
whole power of the Confederate Colonies to protect them. 
Without a word more, a roll of citizenship was displayed 
and each adult, attacliing his name in America's Doom's 
Day Book, * * * repeated after the priest a vow 
of fidelity to republican institutions. " "' "" The 
assend)ly with great joy, after electing Captain Helm to 
command, with drum and instruments of music, marched 
to the fort and received from the wily commander the 
master keys. In a fcAV hours after the glittering stars 
and blazing stripes climbed the bastion of Sackville and 
floated out in the sunmier air to the astonishment of the 



■'Busseron was coinniissioned Captain by Clark, August lf5, 1778. 
[3] 



34 HISTOIUCAL SKKTCIIP:S 

Indians, who were told their Old Father, the Freneh King, 
ha«l eonie to life again.* 

Judge Lasselle, a citizen of Logansport, Indiana, has in 
his possession Captain Bnsseron's account book, which fur- 
nishes hitherto unpublished matter in relation to accounts 
against ('ai)tain Leonard Ilidiii. Captain ]>usseron was 
autliiiri/.(Mi by him to organize a niilitarv (•(imjiaiiy. So we 
find a ]>art <»f the reectrd runs: 

"A'ovendter 4, iTTs — For having raised the companv, 

."»()() ( j)resunuibly francs). 
"Xnvember 12, ITTS — I'aid to St. !Maria for 5 ells of 

red serge for the flag, 5. 
Paid to ^Ir. Dagenet fur 3A ells 

of green serge at lO-'JT-lO. 
Paid Madam (iodare for mak- 
ing flag, 25." 

Judge Lasselle adds: ''From these entries we can 
obtain almost a full and precise description of the flag. It 
consisted of two stripes, one of red and the other of green ; 
the extra link of the red stripe of one and three-fourths 
ells. The Freneh ell being forty incdies in length, and 
taken off to form the shield in its i)ro})er place, left the 
flag about eleven feet in length. * * * ]( ^vas a 
famous flag for reason that it was the first American flag 
in all that vast extent of territ(»rv of the jiresent Pnited 
States, extending westward from the ]ilue Kidge moun- 
tains in \'irgiiiia to tlie Pacific ocean." 

'Pills i< rile flag around which ^faurice Thompson has 
Woven the llirilling incidents pictnred in his jiopular 
romance. 

" Hi»t. Knox County, p. 4. 



OLD YINCENNES. 35 

Thus, it will be observed, "without the firing of a gun, 
through strategy, Fort Sackville was delivered by its 
militia officer, St. Maria Racine, into the hands of Captain 
Leonard Helm, and the interpreter, Ilenrv. The Indians, 
who were the friends of the English, immediately sent 
runners to Detroit to inform the British commander there 
of the result at Post Vincennes, and preparations were 
commenced to retake the fort and village ; to this end 
Langlade was dispatched to assemble the Indians near the 
village, while Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton prepared a 
fleet to take through the lakes to the head of the Wabash 
river; and early in October he and Major Hay, with 
eighty-four soldiers and one hundred Indians, started to 
recapture Vincennes and destroy Clark's forces at Kas- 
kaskia. Captain Helm, fearing that he could not be rein- 
forced at an early day and suspicioning that a Detroit 
force might be sent against him, sent out a spy to keep him 
advised of any approaching danger, but his messenger was 
captured and killed and all his papers seized; thus the flo- 
tilla of Hamilton and his army from Detroit arrived 
within three miles of the village before it was discovered. 
Captain Helm and his interpreter, Henry, were the sole 
occupants of the fort when its surrender was demanded by 
Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton, the native militia failing 
to support Captain Helm. He stood by one of the can- 
nons, it is said, with torch in hand, ready to fire it, and 
thus answered Hamilton: "Bv Lleavens^ no man enters 
here until I know the terms." 

''You shall have the honors of war," responded Hamil- 
ton, and then, as the British army, at parade rest, saluted 
the lowering of the flaa', the officer with his conunand of 



3G lIlSTOinCAL SKHTCIIES 

one man, with iiiilitarv prcti-iion, inarflu'«l uut of the forti- 
tioatii»ns.* Thus ajiain, Fort Sackvillc, without bh»o<lsheil, 
jtasscMl uinlor the sway of (ireat Britain, but not lone: to 
remain so. The re-estahlislinient of the En.irlij^h with 
inj-n-a.-ctl fon cs an«l hulian allies all aroini«l the ])ost, 
Clark's situation at Kaskaskia hocame i-ritieal, if not really 
untrnahh'. an<l Hamilton conecivfd the idea of capturing 
him l».v surprise. He sent out seouts for that purpose, but 
the winter was so inclement and traveling so bad, they 
failed to get to Kaskaskia. In the meantime Clark was 
<'on»'<:cting a scheme to surprise and take Hamilton ami his 
forces. Although the tiu:e of enlistment of many of his 
soldiers luul expired, and their places were to be filled with 
the new citizens from concpiest, he determined to send an 
envoy to Vincennes to h-arn the temper of the peo]de 
then', the probable nundier of Ihnnilton's force, llu' 
-treniith of the defenses to be overcome, an<l then take his 
chances for victory. After retaking the fort at Post Vin- 
cennes, it is somewhat remarkable that Hamilton did not 
follow up his success by ptishing on to Kaskaskia and 
engaging hi-^ opponent, wh»)sc strength had been weakened 
by the expiration of the en]i>;tments of the bulk of his 
soldiers, and before his little army cnuld be recruited ami 
reorganized and reinforcements could arrive, ])romised by 
the (iovernor of Virginia. 

The presum])tion is that the British commander felt so 
secure in his tpiarters during the very severe winter, then 
nt its worst. an<l so sure that no successful camjtaign coidtl 
be waged against hiuj by Clark's little army at that time of 
flood and ice, he could afford to wait until spring before 

" Hinl. Knox County, p. 4-3. 



OLD VIXCEXXES. 37 

entering upon liis campaign against Kaskaskia. The result 
then, in his estimation, being an inevitable success, as he 
could be reinforced by that time with several hundred 
Indian warriors. As pride and over-confidence often go 
before their fall, this fateful and imagined security proved 
disastrous to him and his armv ere the flowers began to 
bloom and the birds began to sing to cheer his armv on in 
their anticipated triumphant spring campaign. 

Colonel Clark's indomitable will, forceful mind and 
resourceful ingenuity to meet emergencies was put to the 
severest test in devising ways and means to thwart the 
schemes of his more powerful adversary and gain success 
himself. Great commanders are not made, but born so. 
What would have appeared insurmountable obstacles to 
some men, to him were not beyond attainment. So with 
firm resolve, stout heart and optimistic mind, he com- 
menced evolving a scheme, the beginning of which would 
be to learn, authoritatively, from Vincennes what he 
would have to encounter to have his efforts crowned with 
victory. In order to accomplish this, he says, in a letter 
to his friend, Mr. George Mason: "I sent off a horseman 
to St. Vincent to take a prisoner, if possible, l:)y which we 
might get information, but found it impossible on account 
of high water ; but, in the height of our anxiety, on the 
evening of the 29th of January (1779) Mr. Francis Vigo, 
a Spanish merchant, arrived from St. Vincent, who was 
there at the time it was taken by Hamilton, and he gave me 
every intelligence I wished." The name of this good 
friend of the American cause should ever be held in grate- 
ful remembrance for his patriotism and generous deeds in 
advancing to Colonel Clark funds and helping to keep the 



38 IIISTOIMI AL >KI:TC1IKS 

Cfdonial scrip at jmr. He was ricli and spent his fortuni- 
to a<lvan<*e an<l maintain Anu'riran credit and suj^'eniacv. 
Tlie name of Colonel Francis \ i^o is well worthy to be 
embalmed in the meniorv of the citizens of Vincennes with 
the heroes, General George Rogers Clark and M. Pierre 
CJibanlt. 

He sai<l: '"The Governor's party consisted <»f abont 
800 men when he took possession of the post, on the 17th 
of December last. Findinir the season too far spent for 
his intentiftn against Kaskaskia, he had sent nearly the 
whole of the Indians out to different parts to war, but to 
embody as soon as the weather would permit, and he could 
Complete the design."" Having the infornuition he desired. 
C<)lonel Clark cpiickly proceeded to organize as large a 
force as possible, drawing from several adjacent recruiting 
stations. His plan was to send a portion of his force by 
boat, with [irovisions and war e(]uipments ami artillery 
taken from the fortifications at Kaskaskia, down the ^lis- 
sissijijii river to the Ohio, and thence u]i the Ohio t<» tiie 
Wabash, up the latter river to within nine miles of Post 
St. Vincent, where a junction was to be made with the 
land forces un<ler his command, as he would go directly 
across the country to that point. On the .'^rd of February. 
iTTn, C(donel Clark wrote t<> the (Jovernor of Virginia. 
ex]daining his situation and lack of reinforcements prom- 
ised, being sensible of his peril without them, which, at 
that tiine, he hardly had a right to expect, and added: "I 
shall be <d)liged to give the country to Hamilton without 
a turn of fortune in my favor. T am residved to take 
advantage of his present situation and risk the wiiole on 

"Colonel Vigo'* roi>ort to Colonel Clark. 



OLD YINCENXES. 39 

a single battle. I shall set out in a few days with all the 
force I can raise of my own troops, and the few militia 
that I can depend upon, amounting to only one hundred 
and seventy men, some of which go on board the small 
galley. * * * I shall march across the land myself 
with the rest of the boys. The principal persons that fol- 
low me on this forlorn hope are Captain Joseph Bowman, 
John Williams, Edward Worthington, Richard McCarty 
and Francis Charleville, Lieutenant Brashear, Abraham 
Keller, Abraham Chaplin, John Bailey and several other 
brave subalterns. * * * j know the cause is desper- 
ate, but, sir, we nmst either quit the country or attack 
Hamilton. No time is to be lost. Were I sure of rein- 
forcements, I would not attempt it now. Who knows what 
fortune will do for us ? Great things have been effected 
by a few men well conducted. Perhaps we may be fortu- 
nate. We have this consolation, that our cause is just, and 
that our country will be grateful and not condemn our 
conduct in case we fall through ; if so, this country, as 
well as Kentucky, I believe, is lost."* 

Hoping almost without the least foundation for a hope 
to rest upon, knowing that Hamilton's force exceeded his 
by four to one, and that the enemy would be behind de- 
fenses well equipped. Colonel Clark, with his little, but 
heroic band, set out for Post St. Vincent, February 5, 
1779, saying he would "conquer or die." In his letter to 
a friend and patron, George Mason, of Virginia, he wrote: 
"I had a large boat prepared and rigged, mounting ten 
four-pounders and four large swivels, manned with a fine 
company of forty-five men, commanded by Lieutenant 

'■■'Colonel Clark's letter to the Governor of Virginia. 



4U TIIS'I'OlMl Al. SKKTCIIKS 

I{op:ors. She set out the eveninjr of the 4th of Febniarxv 
witli onlers to fctree her way. if jxtssible, within ten miles 
of post St. Vincent ami hiy until further <»r»h'rs. -^ * * 
I ^ot evervthing eomi)htc an<l tm the ."ith. at .'j d'clnck |>. 
m.. marched, heinjr jnined bv the vohmteer companies of 
the jiriiK'ipal younir men of Illinois, commanded by Cajv 
tain ( 'harlcvillc and ( 'ajitain ^Ic( "arty. Those <»f the trooj* 
were Cajitain Josejdi I5!»wman and Kdwar<l Worthington, 
<^if the l.i'zht Horse." 

The little arnjy's travels and doiniis, from Kaskaskia to 
the near a])])r(ia< h to Vincennes, will be given from Cap- 
tain l>i>w:nan's diary, as they were clearly recordctl in his 
journal, in jjreference to that taken from the letters of 
Colonel Clark in his memoirs, because the latter were 
written several years after these events occurred, when his 
recollecti(^n might have been faulty. lie says: "Having 
crossed the Kaskaskia river on the r»th of Fel)ruarv, I77l>. 
the first day's journey was about three miles through mud 
and water." Vor some days foUuwing they found the 
conditions to be <>{ a similar chMractcr and made slow 
progress. 

**'0n P\d.ruary l<ith crossed the Kiver Petit Fork ui)on 
trees that were felled for that ]>urpose, the water being so 
high tlu're was no fording it. Still raining and \\> tents. 

"On the 11th, cro.ssed Saline river. 

"12th of ^farch crossed Cat I'lains and killed nmubers 
of buffalo; the road very bad and immense <piantities of 
rain had fallen. The men mu<di fatigiu'd ; cami»ed on the 
edge of the wood. 'J'he plain is meadow, being fifteen or 
more miles across. It was late in the niiiht before the 



* Colonel riark'* letter to the <«overnor <if \ir(riniii. 



OLD A'lXCEXN-ES. 41 

baggage and troops got together. Xow Avithin twenty-one 
miles of St. Vincent. 

*'13th — Arrived at the two Wabashes. Althongh a 
league asnnder, they now made bnt one. We set to mak- 
ing a canoe. 

"14tli — Finished the canoe, and pnt her into the river 
about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. 

"loth — Ferried across the two Wabashes, it being then 
five miles in water to the opposite hill, where we camped. 
Still raining. Orders not to fire any guns for the future, 
except in cases of necessity. 

"IGth — Marched all day through rain and water. 
Crossed Fox river. Our provisions began to be short. 

"iTth^Marched early, crossed several rivers very deep. 
Sent Mr. Kennedy, our commissary, with three men to 
cross the River Embarrass, if possible, and proceed to a 
plantation opposite Post Vincent in order to steal boats or 
canoes to ferrv us across the Wabash. About an hour bv 
sun we got near the River Embarrass. Found the country 
overflowed with water. We strove to find the Wabash. 
Traveled until 8 o'clock in mud and water, but could find 
no place to camp on. Still kept raining on, but after some 
time Mr. Kennedy and his party returned. Found it im- 
})Ossible to cross the Embarrass river. We found the water 
falling from a small spot of ground; stayed there the re- 
mainder of the night. Drizzling and dark weather. 

"IStli — At break of day heard Governor Hamilton's 
morning gun. Set off and marched down the river. 
" ■^ * About 2 o'clock came to the bank of the Wa- 
bash ; made rafts for four men to cross and go up to town 
and steal boats, but they spent the day and night in the 



1-.' IllSTolJh AL SKKTl IIKS 

water to no purposi*, for tlu'rc was m.t nnc toot nf tlrv 
laii<l to 1)0 foun<l. 

"I'Jtli — C'ai»taiu Mr('artv's cuiiiitany set to iiiakinir a 
cainK', aii«l at -■» o'clock four iiicii rcturiic«l after spcndinic 
the niirlit on sonic ol<l lo<rs in the water. The canoe fin- 
ished, Cajjtain McCarty, with three «)f his men, embarked 
in the canoe and made th(» third attemjit to steal hoats, 
hnt Soon returned, haviiiir discovered four larire tires 
ahout a lea<rne distant from the camj), which seemed to 
him to he the tires <»f whites and Indians. Colonel Clark 
sent two men in the canoe down to meet the bateau, with 
orders to eoine on day and niijht, that beins: the last hope, 
and we starvin<r. ^lany of the men much east down, par- 
ticularly the Volunteers. No jirovisions of any sort now 
two days, llai-d i'orruiie. 

'*2()th — Camp very <piiet, but huntrry; some almost in 
despair. Many of the Creole volunteers talking: of return- 
infr. Fell to nnikinjr more eanoes, when about 12 o'clock 
our sentries on the river l>i-oUirht to a biat with five 
Frenchmen from the I*(tst, who t<dd us that we were not as 
yet discovered; that the inhabitants were well di.sposed 
towards lis, etc. Said Captain Williuir's brother, who was 
taken in the fort, ha<l nui<le his e.sca])e, and that one Mason- 
ville, with a party of Indians, was then seven days out in 
]>ursuit of him, with much nwtre news to <»ur favor, such as 
repairs done on fort, the strenjrth. etc. They informed us 
of two canoes they had seen adrift some distance above us. 
Onlered that Captain Worthinirton with a ])arty jjo in 
search of them. Keturned late with one onlv. One of 
onr men killcfl a deer. whi«-h was bronoht into camji. 

"21st — At break of day bepiu to ferry our !nen over in 
eanoes to a snuill hill, calle<l 'Mammelle' dx ))roMiinen('e. a 



OLD YINCENNES. 43 

knoll or small hill rising- above the water, called so by the 
French, which is likened nnto the mamma or breast rising 
above the surface of the chest. This is nearly opposite 
the town of St. Francisville, Illinois.) Captain Williams, 
with two men, went to look for a passage and were discov- 
ered by two men in a canoe, bnt could not fetch them to. 
The Avhole army being over, we thought to get to town that 
night, so we plunged into the water, sometimes to the neck, 
for more than one league, when we stopped on the next 
hill (at or near St. Rose Catholic Church grounds) of the 
same name (Mammelle), there being no dry land on any 
side for many leagues. Our pilots say we can not get 
along — that it is impossible. Rain all this day. JSTo pro- 
visions. 

''22d — Colonel Clark encourages his men, which gave 
them great spirits. Marched on in the water. Those that 
were very weak and famished from so much fatigue and 
hunger went in the canoes. AVe came one league further 
to S(ime Sugar camps (situated about four miles below 
town, to the right, going south of Cathlionette road), 
where we stayed all night. Heard the evening and morn- 
ing guns of the fort. Xo provisions yet. Lord, help us. 

''23d — Set off to cross the plain, called Horseshoe Plain, 
about four miles long and covered with water breast high. 
Here we expected some of our brave men must certainly 
perish, having frozen in the night, and so long fasting. 
Having no other recourse but wading over this plain, or 
rather lake of water, w^e plunged into it with courage, 
Colonel Clark, being the first, taking care to have the boat 
try to take those that were weak and numb with cold into 
them. I^Tever were men so animated with the thouo'ht of 



44 lllSToK'K AI. SKI'.TCIIKS 

jivi'ii^iiiir tilt' wrongs (l<»iie tn their back srttli'iiit'iits as this 
small army. About 1 o'clock we came in si<iht <tf the 
town. We halteil on a small hill of drv land (two miles 
south of town, to the ri»rht of same r<»ad from town) called 
'Warriors' Island,' where we took a prisoner huntinir 
ducks, who informed us that no i»erson suspcctccl our com- 
inir at that season of the year." 

llaviiiiT followed ( 'aptain IJowman's account of the 
nuirch of Colonel Clark's army to Warri(>rs' Island, the 
writer will ^rive the record of (Jolonel Clark hims(df from 
that on of the succeeding: jouriuy to the town. He says: 
**'I'o our inexpressible joy we ^ot safe on (rrni /Inmi 
within half a lea.i^ue (»f the fort, covered by a suuill <;rovi' 
of trees, and had a full view of the wished-for spot. 
* * * We had already taken some prisoners that 
were comin<r from the town, l^yinjr in this throve some 
time to dry our clothes by the sun, we t<iok another ])ris- 
oner. known to be a friend, from whom we j:<>t all the intel- 

NoTE. — Wnrriors"' l!)lnn>l, iilluili-<l to liy Cnptnin ISovriiiiin in his forciroinc 
joiirnni of the roul<' trnvfle<l. is a piece of liigh urouncl ritii.ileil a quarter of ii 

mile »oiilhwe!<i of the re«i"lenee of Mr. <'liiie, on the Cnthlionette ronil. Mr. 

John U. (ilns.o.now nn eMerly eiiizen, informs me that lie lixeil on ibi? farm 
Inn'i. from early ehiMhooil. with hisi »rriindfather, Mr. I>eleria, until he \va.« 
thirteen yearx olil, anil ^aiil: "The c-urrent o|iifiion in early days \vn.« that the 
bin recei%'eil it.< name from the fact that it was om-c oi-eupied hy some Indian 
warrior*. ■' It is really not an island, as the reader inijrht infer, but hiirh ground 
on the lower prairie, whieh appeared only as an islainl durine an overflow of the 
river. The nature of the route Iraveled to the villaire e.\rludes " Bunker Hill," 
in the line of march, as some have asserteil. The army eould not liave 
reached this hill, had it so desired, on account of the large deep pond and miry, 
swampy slouirh, that laid hetween them. Puring the driest time of the year 
such a feat would have bren difficult to ac<-omplish by starviuK and exhausted 
troops. Hesidcs. the route by the way of the hill would have been lonirer ancl 
out of the clirect line of march, and, if it could hii ve been iraincd. another ravine 
and sloUKh would have intervened between them and the next hill, which wouM 
have been dilTic-ult to reach on account of the hiirh stage of waters then existing. 
The army took the only practicable route, although it was covered with water 
that was in manv places, the narrator says, " waist liigh.'" 



OLD YIXCENNES. 45 

lig'enee wished for ; but would not suffer him to see our 
troops, except a few. '" " " I resolved to appear as 
daring' as possible, that the enemy might conceive, by our 
behavior, that we were very numerous, and probably dis- 
courage them. I immediately wrote to the inhabitants in 
general, informing them where I was, and what I deter- 
mined to do, desiring the friends to the States to keep 
close to their houses, and those in the British interest to 
repair to the fort and fight for their King; otherwise 
there would be no mercy shown them, etc. Sending the 
compliments of several officers that were known to be 
expected to reinforce me, to several gentlemen of the 
town, I dispatched the person off with this letter, waiting 
until nearly sunset, giving him time to get near the town 
before we marched. As it was an open plain from the 
wood that covered us, I marched in time to be seen 
from the town before dark, but taking advantage of the 
land, disposed the lines in such a manner that nothing but 
the pavillions (flags that the ladies of Kaskaskia had given 
him) could be seen, having as many of them as would be 
sufficient for one thousand men, Avliich was observed by 
the inhabitants, who had just received my letter, and who 
counted the different colors, and judged our numbers 
accordingly. But I was careful to give them no oppor- 
tunity of seeing our troops before dark, which it would be 
before we could arrive at tlie village. The houses 
obstructed the fort's observing us,- and no alarm was 
evinced, as I expected, by the inhabitants. In order to 
give them time to publish the letter we laid still till sun- 
down, when we began our march, all in order, with colors 
flvino-, and drums braced. After wading to the edge 



40 IIISTUKICAI. SKi:'|-( IlKS 

of the water, Urcast lii^li, we nmiinted tlie risiiiir irr<»iiii<l the 
town is built on. (Tliis ground is now occupied Ity tlie 
Catholic cemeterv and O'Donnell's field.) 

*'Ab<uit 8 o'clock Lieutenant Bailey, with about fourteen 
men, were dispatche<l to tire on the fort while we took 
j)ossession of the town, and or<lered to stay until he was 
relieved by another ]»arty, which was <l<»ne. 

"We were infc»rnied that Captain Laniont, with a party 
of twenty-five men, were out on a scout, who, hearini; our 
firing, came back." Early in the niirht the Indian chief. 
Tobacco, friendly to the AiiMritaiis, approached Colonel 
Clark and told him he eotdd muster twenty-five braves, and 
rejpiested that he might lead them, saying that "they 
would clind> the fort." Clark thanked him and said: "Ttdl 
them tit ir«i to tiieir Imuses; they might 1k' mistaken i"<>r 
foes." lie acMpiiesccd, says a narrator, in this decision, ImU 
stayed with ('lark, at the hitter's r<'(|uest, during the 
renuiin<ler of the night, well jdeased, ami gave him much 
valnable information. 

"At the first fire the various troops took positions. 
Charleville took a position among the houses on the south 
side «»f the fort; Bowman and lii> company at the foot of 
Bu.sseron street, on the river bank; while Lieutenant 
Bailey <»])ened fire on the front and flank of the fortress." 
So complacent was Ilandlton in the belief that Clark 
would iKtt dare so rash an attempt as to attack tli(> fort, 
and so well had the secret td* his ai)))roa(di been kept, of an 
invading force by the citizens, that it was only after a Brit- 
ish soldier had been shot down at a jH.rt hole he realized 
that the Americans confronted him in battle array. 

"'J'he firing continued all night, the cannon of the fort 
shattering houses, but almost u.seless against the riflemen, 



OLD VIN^CENNES. 47 

protected by the houses and picket fences. The embraz- 
iires for the cannon had to be frequently shut, for the 
flash of the guns but invited the sure aim of fifty besiegers. 
Two American troopers were wounded in this night 
attack, while the English lost three killed and four 
wounded. Major Bowman commenced to entrench on 
Main street, preparatory for the use of the cannon, 
expected hourly by the bateau, with which he expected to 
blow up the fort's magazine." Early in the morning Cap- 
tain Lamont's force, which had returned the night before, 
were hovering around the town, seeking to enter the fort. 
Clark sent a detachment to intercept and capture them, 
but finding it fruitless, withdrew his troops a little from 
the garrison, in order to give them a chance to get in, 
which they did, much to their credit and his satisfaction, 
believing if they did not get in at daybreak, they would go 
off and join other Indians. He says: "Several of the 
number, however, were captured, among them a famous 
Indian partisan of the name of Masonville." He was cap- 
tured by two Indian boys, it is said, who tied and took him 
near the fVrt, and iVmght l^ehind him as a breastwork, sup- 
posing that the British would not fire at them for fear of 
killing him. The news coming to Clark, he ordered them 
to take him to the guard house, which they did, but were 
so inhuman as to take a ])art of his scalp on the way. When 
the firing ceaeed, at daylight, the troops being nearly fam- 
ished and exhausted from incessant labor and long fasting, 
Clark, in order to give time for rest and victualing the 
troops, fcnt a flag of truce with a letter of a bluffing kind 
to Lieutcnant-'-overnor Hamilton. During this truce 
interval the ladies of the village busied themselves in giv- 
ing the famished soldiers the first full meal thev had had 



1.^ TIISTOKK AL >KI:TCIIKS 

tor altoiit five days. Colonel Clark's note to Lieutciiant- 
(lovi-riior Hamilton reails: "Sir — In onler to save your- 
selves from the impendini:: storm that now threatens yon. I 
f)r(ler yon to immediately sjirrcmlcr yourselves, with all 
your pu'ris<tn, stores, etc. For, if I am obliged to storui 
yon, you nuiy depend on sueh treatment as is justly due to 
a mnnlerer. lii'ware of destroying stores <»f any kind, or 
letters that are in your jxissession, ir hurting one house in 
the town, for, by lleavi-ns, if you do, there shall be no 
merev shown yon. (Signeil) (t. R. Clark." To wliieh the 
British eonnnander replieil : "Lieuti-nant-Governor Ilani- 
iltoii begs leave to aetjuaint C<donel (lark that he and his 
garrison arc not disposed to be awed into any action 
unworthy IJritish subjects." Then the tiring was renewed 
ami continued at the end of the truce with m(^»re vigor than 
ever, and the men were in favor of storming the citadel. 
TFamilton, becoming depressed, sent that evening a flag <»f 
truce and a ])roposition to Colomd Clark, as follows: 
"l.i<'ntcnant-( lovcrimr llaiiiilton ju'opi ses to Colonel ( "lark 
a truce for three <lays. during which time he pledges that 
there shall be no defensive works earriecl on in the gar- 
rison, on condition that Colonel Clark shall observe, on his 
jtart, a like cessation of defensive works; that is. he wishes 
to confer with Col<tn(d Clark, as soon as can be. and prom- 
ises that whatever nniv pass between them two, and 
another person, mnttnilly agreed tqion, to be ])resent, shall 
be secret till matters be finished; as l:e wishes that what- 
ever results of the conference may be, it nuiy tend to the 
honor and credit of each ))arty. If Colonel Clark makes 
a difficulty of coming into the fort. T.ieutenant-C iovernor 
iramilton will speak to him by the gate. February 24. 
177!». (Siiiiiedi Tlcnvv iramiltf II." 



OLD VIXCEXXES. 49 

Clark was sure that the delaved boat wouhl arrive in 
three days, wlien he would be reinforced with men, ammu- 
nition, stores and artillery, and could well afford some 
delay on that account, yet he was so confident that he was 
master of the situation, he determined to press his advan- 
tage to the utmost, and accordingly returned the follow- 
ing answer: 

''C\:)lonel Clark's compliments to Lieutenant-Governor 
Hamilton, and begs leave to inform him that he will not 
agree to any terms other than Mr. Hamilton surrenders 
himself and garrison, at discretion. H Mr. Hamilton is 
desirous of a conference with Colonel Clark, he will meet 
him at the church with Captain Helm. (Signed) G. K. 
Clark." 

This note had the effect to bring about a conference 
at the church. When they met Clark had little to saj, 
as he considered Hamilton and his officers as murder- 
ers, and intended tO' treat them as such. The conference 
brought about no agreement, although Hamilton was dis- 
posed to surrender on conditions favorable to himself and 
followers. After stating the tenns and Clark not agTce- 
ing, he asked: "What more do you want?" Clark re- 
plied : "I want sufficient cause tO' put all the Indians and 
partisans to death, as the greater part of these villains are 
with you." All of Hamilton's propositions being rejected, 
he asked Clark if nothing would do but fighting. To which 
Clark replied: "I know nothing else." Clark then states 
that Hamilton begged him to stay until he should go to 
the garrison and consult with his officers. 

The Kickapoo Indians, who were friendly to the Amer- 
icans, about this time discovered a party of Indians, whom 

[4] 



00 HIS r<»i;i( \i. sKi-yrcii'/s 

llaiiiiltnii had sent out iuv M-alp:-, f<»niiii;j: ovt'i* the liilU 
back of the viUa^c, ami pive the iuforaiation to Chirk, 
ami a partv was sent out to meet tlie.n on the eonimons. 
Thev conceived our troops to he a party sent bv Hamilton 
to meet and eomlnet them in — an honor commonly paid 
them. "I was," said (Mark, "hit:hly i)leased to see eacii 
of the party whooj»iiiii-, li:illooin<j; and striking viwh others' 
breasts, as they aj>proached in open tiehl, each seeming to 
outdo the other with the greatest signs of joy. The poor 
devils never disc<ivered their mistake until too late for 
many of them to escape. Si.x of them were made ])risoners, 
two escaped and the rest were s<» badly wonn<led, as we 
afterwards learned, that bnt one lived. I had now as fair 
an ojiportunity of making an imi)n'ssion on the Indians as I 
could have wished for — that of convincing them that Gov- 
ernr»r Ifamilton couhl not give them that protection he had 
unnle them believe he could: and, in some measure, to 
incense the Indians against him for not exerting himself 
to save their friends; an<l I ordered the i)risoners to be 
toiuahawked in the face of the garrison. It had the eifect 

1 expected. Instead of nniking their friends inveterate 
against ns. they u]»ltraided the Knglisli for not trying to 
save their friends, and gave them to under-tmid that they 
believed them liars and not warriors." A thrilling inci- 
<lent, it is sai<l, occurred at the exectUion (d' the caj)tured 
"warriors. 'J'he leader of them ]>roved to be the son of a 
frenchman named St. C'nix, a mendter of r'a])tain 
McC'arty's volunteer com]>any from (ahokii, llliuius. lie 
•Nvas ]>ainted like an Indian, ami not even his father recog- 
iii/.e<l him while standing guard over him with a drawn 
sword, t.. -<■.■ tli'if 1<. .lid not escape. At the critical 



OLD yiXCEXNES. 51 

moment, when the ax was about to fall, he cried out: "O, 
save me." The father recognized his voice, and you may 
easil}' guess at the agitation and behavior of the two per- 
sons. Clark, who had so little mercy for such murderers, 
and had such a valuable opportunity for example, knowing 
that there would be great solicitation to save him, says he 
immediately absconded ; but so exceedingly well had the 
father performed his duties in the service, at his earnest 
request, the officer in charge granted a rejorieve on certain 
conditions. 

After this episode the chief officers met in council again, 
consisting of Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton and Major 
Hays, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, on the part of 
Great Britain, and Colonel Geora'e Rogers Clark and Cap- 
tain Joseph Bowman, representing the Americans, and 
Captain Leonard Helm, mutually selected as a witness. 
Hamilton produced articles of capitulation, which were 
rejected by Clark, and they separated. 

Towards the close of the evening Clark sent Hamilton 
the following articles: 

"1st. That Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton engages to 
deliver to Colonel G. R. Clark, Fort Sackville, as it is at 
present, with all the stores, etc. 

"2d. The garrison are to deliver themselves up as 
prisoners of war, and march out with their arms and 
accouterments. 

"3d. The garrison to be delivered up to-morrow at 10 
o'clock a. m. 

"4th. Three days' time to be allowed the garrison to 
settle their accounts with traders and inhabitants. 

"5th. The officers of the garrison to be allowed their 
necessary baggage, etc." 



.V2 IIlsl'dllK AL SKKTCllKS 

The?e terms were accepted bv Hamilton, and he deliv- 
ered up tlie fort at 10 o'clock a. m., Februarv 25, 1770, 
and the stars and stripes, which had been hauled down 
when Captain Helm delivered up the fort to Hamilton, 
and so dear !<• that ideal patriotic heroine, "Alice of Old 
Vincenn<s/' mounted up the tla^staif ajrain to kiss the 
nmrninir bree/es, fanne<l by the win^s of Liberty, as she 
hovered over and welcomed home and blessed Old Glory 
with benisons of love. 

C'<donel Clark innnediately chauired the name of the 
fort to that «d' Patrick llcnry, in honor of the then Gov- 
ernor of Viriiiiiia, datini: his official papers at Fort Patrick 
Henry. 

Soon after ca]>itulatiou was eflfecteil it was learncil that 
an expedition was on its way from Detroit, and was 
ex]iected shortly, in aid of Hamilton, by the way of the 
lakes and the Wabash, composed of sfddiers, stores, muni- 
tions of war, etc. (.'aptain Bowman, who had been i>ro- 
moted to the office of Major, was ordered by Colonel, now 
General, Clark, by promotion after the capture of the 
town, to intercept it. Accordinirly, on the eveninc: of the 
2(>th, with three boats, armed with swivels, taken from 
the fort (the bateau from Kaskaskia had not yet arrived), 
under the command of ^lajor Leuare and fifty volunteer 
militia, started on the expt'dition up the river. 

Goodspeed says in his history: "They journeyed u]i it 
and stopped at the foot of an island at Belgrade, under 
overhanpinir willows, and there the boats were tied u]> and 
a party with li^:ht canoes were sent to explore the waters 
al>ove." At Point Couppe, about sunrise the next morn- 
ing, the descending fleet, consisting of seven bateaux, was 



OLD YIXCENNES. 53 

descried. Frederick Melil, one of the Virginia troops, who 
led the reconnoitering party, pnlled rapidly back to Bow- 
man and gave information of the strength of the approach- 
ing fleet. On the evening of the 2d day of March the 
unsuspecting Canadians came into the narrow channel 
between the island and main shore, where the Americans 
lay entrenched. A cry of "Round to and come ashore," 
was the first intimation the party from Detroit received 
that an enemy of the King's lay in these waters. The hail 
was quickly responded to when followed by a shot fired 
across the path of the descending fleet, and a demand 
made for its surrender. Bowman sent out boats with 
Major Legare, who ordered those in charge to make fast to 
the shore. When this was done Adimar, a captain of the 
commissary, formally turned over the fleet, with thirty- 
eight private soldiers as prisoners, and stores and pro- 
visions and baled goods. 

The expedition returned at once to the town and the 
soldiers and boats, filled with booty, were turned over to 
the American commander. This capture, with that of the 
fort in the town, yielded Clark seventy-nine prisoners, be- 
sides oflicers, twelve pieces of artillery and stores to the 
amount of 50,000 pounds. 

On IMarch 7th Captain Williams and Lieutenant Rogers, 
with a detail of twenty-five men, were ordered to escort 
the prisoners to the Ohio Falls, among whom were Gov- 
ernor Hamilton, Major John Hay, Captain Lamont, Lieu- 
tenant Schiflin, Monsieur de Jean, the Grand Judge of 
Detroit, Pierre Andre, his partner. Dr. McEboth, Fran- 
cois Masonville and j\Ir. Bell Fenibb, together with 
eighteen privates; many others were paroled. 



:,A lll>l'M|;i( Al. >KKTCITKS 

Lieutenant l{ojr(*r> IkkI orders to conduct tliem to Wil- 
liainshurjr, Virjrinia. from the Falls, where they were 
ironed ancl contined in jail until September 2r)tli follow- 
ing, when they were ordered to Hanover Court-llonse, 
where they were released on jiarolc, to remain within cer- 
tain limits. 

Thus ended (leneral (Jeoroe Koirers Clark's campaign 
ni^ainst the Enjrlish in the Northwest, aehieviui:- victories 
as brilliant as any recorde«l in American history, whose 
far-reaching and beneficent results were commensurate 
with the most astute diplomacy the Nation has evolved. 

Followiuir the capture of X'incennes by General Clark, 
with Viririnia and v«dunteer ti-ooj»s from Illinois, in ITTW, 
and the treaty of jM'ace with (ireat Britain having l)een 
mad<' in I7s.'», with the United States, Virginia ceded the 
concpiered territory of the Northwest to the United 
States in 17^4. In 1T^7 the N(»rthwestern Territory, 
embracing the regions between the Ohio and Mississij)pi 
rivers and the (J rent Lakes of the north, was organized. 
Congress, in 17N'^, appointed Arthur Sin(dair (iovernor of 
this 'J'erritory, with his cajtital at ^[arietta, Ohio, and he 
apj)ointe<l Winthrop Sargent, in 17".>0, to come to Vin- 
cennes t<i lay out ji comity anil to establish a court. The 
eounty was nametl Knox, in honor of Ceneral Henry 
Jviiox, then Secretary »d \V;ir; and for a like reason, in 
17SS, while ^lajor liamtvanik was stationed here, at the 
suggestion of (leneral llarnnir. Fort Patrick Henry was 
changeil, in name, to that of Fort Knox. 

^lay 7, ison, the Territory of Indiana was organized, 
including in its boundaries Mi<'higan and Illinois (its itoj)- 
ulation tlu'U being 4,n7."">), nn<ler the name of Knox 
county, and its capital established at Vincennes, 



OLD VmCENNES. 55 

In ISOO General William Henry Harrison was 
appointed Governor of the Territory, but he did not enter 
upon his duties until Janiiarv, 1801. A Territorial Gov- 
ernment was then formed, but the legislative branch did 
not organize until the 29th of July, 1805, when it met in 
the house on the south corner of Broadway and Second 
streets;'" a little later, in 1800, in the first court house 
erected on the northwest corner of Buntin and Third 
streets. There is another contention as to the house and 
place of meeting of the Territorial Legislature, and that 
is that it met in the upper rooms of the two-story frame 
building on the southwest side of Main street, about the 
center of the block, between Second and Third streets, ac- 
cess to it being by an outside stairway. I think these dis- 
crepancies may be reconciled by supposing that the legisla- 
tive body did meet at the respective buildings named. The 
first meetings occurred on Broadway; subsequently they 
were held in the first court house, and finally in the build- 
ing on Main street, just preceding the removal of the seat 
of government to Corydon. The latter building is said to 
have been removed to Upper Third street, this side of the 
park, and near the southwest corner of Third and Hick- 
man streets. What makes the latter statement plausible 
is the fact that a house stands at the point indicated, the 
soutlnvestern side, showing, by the pieced weatherboard- 
ing, that an outside stairway once gave entrance to the 
upper rooms. The house is in a fair state of preservation 
and is owned by Mr. Thomas Murphy, who inherited it 
from an aunt. The house, he says, was moved from Main 
street in 1858 to the present site. It is said by renters 

••• W. II. Smith Hist. Iiul., p. 200. 



oG IILSTOHICAL SKETCIIK8 

who occupv it now that the u])per part of tlu- buihlinir con- 
tain('<l (iriirinally Imt one r«>«»ni, about twenty feet square, 
l»ut i> n«>w«liviileil into suialk'r rooms. Mr. ^lurphy showed 
the writer an iron loek, taken «>tf the eellar door, of huue 
proportions, weiirhin^ several {)ounds, JSxl2 inelies in width 
an«l length, with a key about ten inches in length and 
weighing one-half itoiuid. riicv are thought to l>e of Eng- 
lish Juanufaftiire, the nunblcr and key being of an intri- 
cate nature, and \v(dl littctl to battle lock-pickers and bur- 
glars, riic lock was pr ibably used to secure valuables 
an«l gives c(dor to the claim that the house was once the 
meeting place of the Legislature, or was the oflice of the 
receiver of public moneys. It is in a fair working condi- 
tion, des])ite the ravages of the rust of time, and works 
ami looks as if it could endure use an;>ther century. (Jov- 
ernor Harrison retained his ottice a year after he f(»ught 
the battle of Tippecanoe, when he resigneil, having been 
ai)pointed to command the Army of the Northwest, on the 
24fh day of Se]>teud)er, 1S12. (leneral Thomas Posey 
suc<'ccdcd him and was installed May 2r>, ISI:}. On June 
.'5<t, 1M».".. Michigan rcrritory was set off from Indiana 
Territory, and ^larcli 1, 1n(»!», Illinois was detached from 
it, leaving Indiana Territory with its ]u*esent boundaries. 
Vincennes ceased to be the capital ^larch 11, isi.T, it then 
being moved !<» Corydon, where, on June lOth, the first 
meeting of the c<»nv<Mili<»n to form a State Constitution 
met. Corydon c(»ntinued to be the capital until the Terri- 
tory assumed statehood, in 1S1(», when it was moved to its 
present site, the city of Indianajxdis, 



Chapter III. 

FORTS— TOWN AND COUNTY. 

THE first authentic mention of the erection of a 
fort at the trading Indian village, Che-pe-ko-ke, 
the site of the city of Vineennes, is found in a 
letter^ written by Morgan de Vineennes, March 7, 1733, 
and was in answer to his superior officer, asking what 
progress he had made in establishing a post at this place, 
he having been ordered here through an edict from the 
French Government, which was dated Paris, France, 
January 1, 1731. Many efforts had been previously 
made to get a post established here by the conmiandant 
of the ''Illinois country" and interested trading com- 
panies, but had failed up to this time. It would take 
some time for the order to reach this country, and 
the likelihood is that it did not reach Vineennes be- 
fore the latter part of the year 1731, or the begin- 
ning of 173:^. This view of the case may be inferred, as 
the records show that he only drew one-half pay in 1731 
for services at this post, and full pay in 1732. In his 
answer to his superior he stated that he had built a fort 
and two houses, but needed a barracks, thirty more sol- 
diers and an officer. This statement, made in March, 
1733, indicates the erection of the fort the previous year, 
and that the year 1732 is, no doubt, when the first fort 
was built. Ha vine: been called to Louisiana in 173G, with 



<"In(l. Hist. Pub. for 1902, p. 29. 

-57- 



OLD yiNCENNES. 59 

'his command, to join other troops from the South, to give 
battle to the Chickasaw Xation, he was slain there, and the 
fort at the Indian village was, in memory of him, chris- 
tened Fort St. Vincent, and was known bv that name until, 
changed bv the next commander, Louis St. Ange, to his 
own name, by which it was known until this part of the 
country was ceded by France to England. 

Colonel Ramsey, on taking possession of the f<»rt in the 
name of Great Britain, renamed it Fort Sackville, in honor 
of an English soldier and statesman, then in the zenith of 
his gl<u-y and popular favor in 1764.* 

There has been some difference of opinion as. to the 
exact location of the fort on account of the tendency of 
some to multiply the old defenses of the town. Beyond 
doubt it was located on the ground in front of the old 
Catholic church, as it looked northwest, and included lots 
numbers 34, 35, 24 and 25, near the river bank, and lots 
numbers 23 and 26 on the north, reaching to Vigo street, 
according to the plat of the city by Emison & Johnson, 
made in 1821. The town was not before laid off, and the 
streets made by the aforesaid survey and lots numbered, I 
think, give the exact location, and a good idea may be 
formed of it by the following boundaries: Taking the 
river as one side, Barnett street as another ; a line parallel 
with the church property looking north as another, and 
Vigo street as the last. The fort and the church faced 
each other, the former looking southeast, the latter north- 
west, the two being, it is recorded, about eighty yards 

'■Mieorge G. Sackville was an English Viscount, and served with distinction in. 
the British army in-1743-69: was Secretary of State, for the colonies, during the 
Revolution, and especially distini^uished for his bitterness toward them. Born, 
1716: died, 1785. Supposed to bo the author of the Letters of Junius.— Peoples' 
Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 1533. 



60 IIIS'I'OIIICAL SKi:'r( IIKS 

apart. Tlic t^nmiul «»ceupied bv the f«»rt, as represented 
in (io(Mlsj)oe«rs Histurv, was an irrejrular inclosnre, bein^ 
abuut sixty feet at the narrowest i)art, and t\v<» luindrod in 
widtli, containino; between twn and three aeres. As to the 
eharaeter of the <k't'enses of the fort, discrepaneies exist. 
The historian above allnded to says: "Tpon the river's 
side, and within forty feet of tlie water's cdjre, two lines of 
palisades, reaehinjr twenty feet above the surfaee of the 
earth, eonstrueted of hirir*' tindters from the forest, 
planted tirinly in the urunnd, were baeke<l liy a line of 
earthworks thrown n]) almut eijrht feet hiuh, behind which 
were nionnted fonr six-ponnders, en hnrhcKe. Alonu' the 
line of Vip> street, at riirht anirles M'ith the river, and 
erossin^ First street, was the jjrineipal entrance, a gate- 
way: and npeiiiiii:' u|i<pii the hitter hi;^hway, )iritected by 
this, were siiuilar lines of defense, protecte<l i)y _i;uns of 
the same caliber at each angle, monnted n})on platforms of 
heavy tind»ers. At the elevation of twenty-five feet at 
ea»'h side of the irateway were swivels, trained to command 
the ajiproach aloii<r the street. The entire walls were 
j»ierce«l at convenient heiirhts by a row of port holes, from 
which ninsketry conld be tired. .\ siiiiilar ])alisade, 
defended by two pins <d* ten-ponnd caliber, j)rotected the 
flank next to the chnreh in the rear of the works, sonth of 
liarnett street, wluM'e there were two towers, or bastions. 
])ien-»'<l for mnsketry, nnide e.xeeptionally stronc; apiinst 
an assatdt by a lini' <d* heavy timbers joine<l tightly 
top'ther and covtMvd with earth. Within the fortirica- 
tions were barracks for one thotisand men, a matra/.ine and 
officers' quarters." 

Other pictures of the fort d»» not show that it was a for- 
midable one at the time it was delivered to Taptain Ibdm, 



OLD YINCENNES. 61 

on August 6, 1778, or when Hamilton recaptured it from 
Helm, in December following', for he described it as a very 
noor affair, and gave immediate attention to strengthening 
the defenses, and said: "I built a guard house, barracks 
for four companies, sunk a Avell and constructed two large 
block houses of oak with embrazures above for five pieces 
of cannon each ; altered and lined the stockades, and laid 
the fort with gravel." And, in speaking of his surrender, 
and giving a reason for it, he said : "The officers, who had 
continued in tents all winter, were exposed to the fire of 
the enemies' riflemen, as the picketing of the fort was so 
poorly set up that one might pass the clenched hand 
between the timbers of the stockades." Count Volney, 
who visited Vincennes in 179G, in speaking of the defenses, 
says : ''Adjoining the village is a space inclosed by a ditch 
eight feet wide and sharpened stakes six feet high. This is 
called the fort, and is a sufficient protection against the 
Indians."" 

It will 1)0 seen by the foregoing description that the 
fort must have been as it was when ''added to and remod- 
eled" by Hamilton, and at its best ; and that by Count 
Volney, seventeen years later, when it had become deter- 
iorated, and when forts in this region were becoming more 
ornamental than useful. 

As to the number of forts said to have been erected in 
Vincennes, the writer addressed an inquiry to an official of 
the War Department, Washington, D. C, asking if there 
was any evidence on file there showing that there was ever 
nicro than one fort erected here, and if so, had it ever 
been moved out of the town. The following reply was 

* Goodspeed, Hist. Knox County, p. 235. 



C2 IIISTOKUAL SKi:'r( IIKS 

receivofl : "Jho foll(»win<j: writers, \v1m» have sai«l m<»re or 
less on tlio historv of Fort Sackville (otherwise known as 
Fort St. Vincent, Fort Patrick llenrv and possibly identi- 
i-al with Fort Kn<>x), make no mention of it ever having:" 
been removed from its oriirinal location: lintler's Historv 
of Kentucky, Dunn's History of Indiana, J>rown's Old 
Northwest, Alhuck's Annals of the West, Brice's History 
of Ft. Wayne, Davidson & Stevenson's History of Illinois, 
Law's History <»f Vincennes an<l Dr. Hass' Indian Wars of 
West Viriiinia." 

huiiii, in his hi-tory (p. 2G5) says: *'A fort was iMiilt 
in 1T^7 and named F(»rt Knox by (icneral Harmar." J'his 
is evidently a mistake, but one that miiiht have been easily 
fallen into. At the time s]>ecitied Maj(»r Hamtranck was 
in command of this jiost, when some correspondence 
occnrrc«l between (Jeneral Harmar. then at his p(»st in Cin- 
cinnati, and !Major Hamtranck, located at "Post Vin- 
cennes," which in part is as follows: 

"Fort Harmar, October 1.). 17SS. 

"Dear ^Major — * * * jjy^ your fort In- namol 
Fort Ivnox, etc." 

One need not conclude, from this ex|)ression of (Jeneral 
Harmar, that a new fort had been built. Tiiere was ]irece- 
dent anil reason why the name of the old fort should be 
<dian,ired. First, For many years the name of the fort at 
Vin<*ennes had been chanjjfcd ]>y each successive com- 
mander; second, General Knox was then Secretjiry of War 
and it would be payiuir him a compliment to ^ive the fort 
liis name. On the accession of Vir<rinia to the ownership 



OLD VINCENNES. 63 

of the country the f(jrl's name was changed from the name, 
of Sackville, to that of Fort Patrick Henry ( the then Gov- 
•ernor and Comman<k'r-iii-chief of the Virginia forces), by 
General Clark. Third, Why would Ilamtranck desire to 
build the fort Avlien there was one already constructed ? 
In 1788 the rights of Virginia had passed to the United 
States Government, when a United States army officer was 
placed in charge of the post; then the pretty compliment 
to the Secretary of War, General Knox, was suggested by 
General Harmar to Majdr Hamtranck: '^'Let vour fort be 
named Fort Knox." 

A further extract from the official of the War Depart- 
ment above mentioned says: "As there seems to be no 
mention of the construction of this fort (Fort Knox), it is 
quite correct to suppose that it was identical with Post 
Vincennes, and that the change of name was merely one of 
honor ( to General Knox) and was made in connection with 
the revival of the military at that post, under the direction 
of Major Hamtranck." And thus it was that Fort Knox, 
Ly the stroke of the pen, which is sometimes mightier than 
the sword, without the aid of axe, pick or shovel, sprang 
into existence, and by its metamorphosis Major Hamtranck 
has given historians a world of trouble in regard to this 
alleged new fort. From the same War Department official 
I will further quote, as follows : "Dunn, in addition to 
this, states immediately after the surrender of Fort Sack- 
ville, the name was changed to Fort Patrick Henry, by 
which nan:e // iras liioirn /or about ten years.'" 

Let it be remembered that the life of Fort Patrick 
FTenry was just about the lapse of time needed to inaugu- 
Tate another name — Fort Knox — by Major Hamtranck. 



G4 III-^Ti'lMt \1. SKl'/ri IIKS 

As tlu-re is no n-cunl ut a si-ntud tort iiavin<r liecn Imilt 
licro, or removed eltJewhere, the onlv rational s(»lution l<ir 
the tliserepanoies that can he found is in the clnin.ne in 
names, as supgesteil. an»l ii<> new fort was erected at that 
time. If ^lajor llanitranck actiudly huilt a fort in Vin- 
cennes in IT^^^, as some histnrians assert, wliere was that 
fort in 17!'«», only ei<rht y^ars later, when Count \'olney. 
a distinfruislu'd Freneh traveler, visited and renniined 
some days here, and di'scrihed the town ( Mention was 
nuide hy him of hut one fort, and to suppose that this one 
was the nrw alleire<l fort huilt hy Major Ilamtranek is \i> 
supp(»se an unreasonahle tliiui;. At tlu^ liiiio of liie 
alleged hiiilding of a seeond fort for defense the necessity 
for forts was passing; away, and dismantlino; them was the 
onlcr of the day, if the eonditi(m of Fort Knox was truly 
represente<l hy Count Volney when he wrote of it in 
ITlXi. At that time the Ived ^lan was tMrnintr his face 
toward the West, to retui-n no more, ami (Jreat Britain 
had heen whipped int<t irood hchavior. riius it will bo 
seen that Vineennes never had hut (»ne real fort, althoujrh 
durin_«r the ])assinfx years sid)sequent to its erection and 
the successive officials controHiui!' it it received numy 
names, viz.: Fort Vineennes, in honor of ^lorjian de Vin- 
eennes, the founder of the villafje, a French officer sent 
here to build the fort and be its commander; St. Auge, in 
honor of his successor; Fort Sackville, in honor of Lord 
Saj'kville, an English Oeneral and noblennin ; Fort Pat- 
rick Henry, in honor of the then (lovernor of ^'ir^inia, 
and, finally. Fort Knox, in honor of (Jeneral Henry Knox. 
Secretary of War in ITSS, when one officer sought to 
compliment his superior, as other officers stationed here 
had done before, by calling it Fort Knox. 



OLD A'INCENNES. 65 

Another statement lias been made that the alleged fort 
was bnilt bv Hamtranek early in July, 1788, and that it 
was moved to a site three miles np the river on the east 
bank of the same. The fact is, Major Hamtranek did not 
arrive at Vincennes until Jnlv 25 of that year to be com- 
mandant of the post. And no evidence exists to show that 
he built a fort here, except the mere suggestion of General 
Harmar, October 13, 1788, "Let your fort be called Fort 
Knox" ; nor is there any evidence to show that Fort Knox, 
or any other fort, was removed from Vincennes to any 
place outside of town. 

There is a tradition existing that the French citizens 
living in the vicinity of the fort complained to Governor 
Harrison that the soldiers at the garrison gave them great 
annoyance and petitioned him to remove them ; that he 
gave heed to their prayer, and that in 1803 the garrison 
was removed to the high ground facing Buntin street, west 
of Water street, about the place where the Baltimore & 
Ohio Southwestern Railway freight depot stands, and that 
the palisades of the old fort were used in making the new 
one.* The late A. B. McKee told the writer some years 
ago that one of his aunts, a Mrs. Buntin, "Alice of Old 
Vincennes," who lived just above the Broadway mill site, 
told him that by looking out at her window north she 
could see a fort. And tradition says that the palisades of 
the old fort were used to build it. My investigations in 
relation to these traditions corroborate the contentions. 
After Governor Harrison came here the United States 
troops were mostly withdrawn from this post, and militia 
troops took their place. This being the case, he would 

"Hist. Knox County, p. 239. (This is an error, as to date, as fort was standing 
there in 1803; see accompanying map.) — Author. 
[5J 



G6 IIISTORICAl. SKKTC IIKS 

have jurisdiction over the tlcfcnscs and nianagenient of 
the pirrison, hence we can rea<lily see that the (i<nern u* 
nii^ht wisli to please tlie people and srrant their jjrayer for 
the removal of the soldiers. Another consideration 
nii«i;ht have intliicnced him to take this step, and tiiat is. 
that the garrison moved up to the position name<l \vo\dd 
he nearer his residence, an<l coidd the more readily pro- 
tect him in case of an In<lian attack. As no record exists 
on file at the War l)ei)art:nent in Washington City of the 
removal <if the fort, the forejroin^ explanation jriven nniy 
account for the existence of the second one, called Fort 
Knox. .\o jiuMishcd record exists, t<i the author's knowl- 
edjje, of this second fnrt, hut from facts recently devel- 
ojK'd* he is constrained to accejjt the traditions as facts, 
fi>r the following; reasons: First, 'JMir(»Uirh his frieud, 
IlnMiuahle Charles (l. ^IcCord, Abstractor of Lan<l Titles, 
an old deed was discovered which Ceneral W. II. Har- 
rison made to one (icorire Wallace in ls()4. In the 
ile>ei-i|ition of the ])roperty mentioned in this deed the 
instrument recites: ■'iJeiiinninir at a place situate ahout 
210 yartls ahove Fort Knox, at Vincennes aforesai<l, 
calle<l the Stonr* landinii' ])laee," etc. This descri|)tion indi- 
cates that the f<»rt occupied the uronnd covered now i;i 
]>art hy the Baltijuore vV: Ohio Southwestern Railway 
freight depot, on the west side <»f Water stn-et. Second, 
The writer has a map in his possession which is a c<'rtitie<l 
copv of one of the X'incennes Land Districts, ma<le in 
ISO.'}, hy Thomas Freeman, the (^riirinal heini:- in the 
archives of the War Department, on whi(di a fort is indi- 
cated, and it was donhtless the one mentioneil in descrih- 
inp: the property in the dee.l from Harrison to Wallace. 

* Deed Rec. Book It. 1V5. \'inoennt'». 




MAP MADE IN i8o?, SHOW- 
ING FORT KNOX AT UP- 
PER BORDER OF TOWN. 



G8 HISTOIMCAL SKKTCIIKS 

Tin- triulition that a fort was Imilt Imtc in ITSS bv 
^lajor llaiiitranc'k, and afterwards removed to a site three 
niih's above the city, on the east bank of the Wabash 
river, about the year 1812, is not substantiated bv facts. 
Wliat could have been the object <»f rciii<»viiiii' the fort 
from town to an isolated })lace uj) the river abiut three 
miles ( 'Die fort was for tlie prtitection of the citizens 
o: the town, l^pon the map alwve alluded to, and here 
friven, such a fort is not designated, although the m(»uth 
of Mill creek (now called Kelso's creek) is plainly dis- 
cernjjble, and the mouth of ^faria creek, ten miles above 
the city, is also to be seen. If a fort had been there it 
wo\dd have been plainly marked on this map. That a 
Fnited States garrison was at the point now called "Fort 
Knox" is not fpiestioned, but that it contained a United 
States fort and removed there from the town is not ]»re- 
sumable, for the further reasons that no record of it exists 
in the War Department, and from the followiuir additional 
fact that I now give: 

riirougii Mr. ( '. (t. ^IcCord the writer has seen an 
iii>trument of writing wherein eighty-five acres of land 
was secured from derennali Ihicklev for the use of a gar- 
rison in ISO.'] l)v the rnited States Government, an<l for 
whij'h his heirs were ])aid the sum of "two hundred and 
eighty dollars in full compensation for the use nuide of 
the tindx'r and land while the troops of the United States 
occui)ied the sai<l land.""" Tt makes no mention of a 
fort being there, but distinctly states the land was f<»r 
garrison jjurjioscs. This laud cudtraces what is called 
"Fort Knox.'- 



•See Act of ConKrc»!i, July, 1832— Roc. nl R. i..4"«. 



OLD YIXCENNES. 09 

Wliv a garrison was established up the river three 
miles is only conjectural. As some United States troops 
had to be retained in this region so as to be near at hand 
in case of raids bv Indians in the countv, and to give them 
something to do in the way of tilling the soil and exercise, 
and thereby lightening the expense of the commissariat, 
may have been, and doubtless were, the reasons for a 
transfer of a portion, if not all, of Fort Knox's garrison 
to that place ; and when the fort was dismantled and its 
inmates removed up the river it is presumed the place was 
dubbed, by courtesy, Eort Knox. The spot the garrison 
occupied is a picturesque one, of which a pretty pic- 
ture is given in this connection, and it has been a popular 
place for picnics and members of the boating club and 
their fair young companions, and doubtless will be in all 
time to come, in memory of the soldiers once stationed 
there ;nid for its beauty.* 

Until the writer investigated the history of our city he 
had supposed that the site was once occupied by a neigh- 
borhood fort, like a dozen other so-called forts in different 
parts of the country; for instance, those in AVidner Avere 
called Fort Widner, Fort Chambers, Fort Lemon, Fort 
Polk and Fort Taylor; the largest of these, Widner, con- 
taining three-quarters of an acre of ground, was what 
is called a stockade fort. One was at Emison's Mill, eight 
nnles above the city, and one at Bruceville ; another in 
Busseron township, called "Ochiltree Fort," near the cele- 
l»rated pear tree, "which was twelve feet in circumference 
at the base, one hundred and twenty feet in height and had 
a lateral spread of one hundred and twenty-six feet, yield- 

"•See Act of Congress, July, 1832; Record R, p. 48, at Court House. 



70 HISTolfK AL SKETCHES 

iiii: Miimially fifty Inishels of fruit."* Another existo<l in 
Palmyra township, caHtMl "K(x*'s Fort," and one at Pur- 
(•('H's. The one erected at Eniison's Mill, owing: to tlie fact 
that most of tlie men were absent on duty, and the gar- 
rison consisted of ladies, was dubbed "Fort Petticoat. "f 
The laudable suggestions that have been made from 
time to time that mem(»rials be placed to mark noted 
places in the early history of our city are to be com- 
mended, and if i)racticable should be actccl upon. But the 
first step should be the erection of a monument to the 
memory of George Rogers Clark. Yet, if our patriotism 
Itecomes so broadened as to end>race every so-called fort 
that once existed in this regi(»n, I fear that our benevo- 
leni'e will be overtaxed, and failure will follow. 

CA.MP KNOX. 

(amp Knox is so closely connected with the history of 
Old Vincennes that it deserves a niche in this volume. It 
was the site of a garrison of Fnitefl States soldiers early 
in the last century, whither they were removed from Fort 
Knox in the village. It is situated three miles al)ove the 
city on a bluff of the eastern bank of the Wabash river. 
It overlooks the river far into Illinois, and beautiful views 
present themselves to the eye, as the borders of the land- 
s<-ape on either slutre are set with silver linings by the 
environment of water, which cahnly reflects grove and 
sky, or <lances in coruscating, sunlit wavelets in answer to 
the calling winds. 

Whih' the garrison was stationed there, the home of Dr. 
Samiu'l McKe<\ I'nitetl States Army Surgeon, was the ob- 

• ni»tory Knox Count.v, p. 72. 
tBiitory Knox County, p. 77. 



OLD VIN"CENNES. 



71 



jective point of frequent outings of Governor William 
Henrv Harrison and his friends, the Governor often re- 
marking that the viands served out there seemed more taste- 
ful than those in town.^ 




CAMP KNOX. SITE OF A GARRISON OF UNITED STATES ARMY, ESTABLISHED IN iSoj.f 



When the soldiers were encamped there it was, without 
doubt, a central place of interest to the countr}^ folk, as 
well as the denizens of the town, as little toil, i)lenty of 
leisure and amusements condnned to enliven the barracks 



"This information came from the late A. B. McKee, who was a son of the 
Surgeon, received through his aunt, Mrs. Capt. Robert Buntin, then a resident of 
Vincenncs. 

tCaiup Knox, the Second, had its origin during the early days of the Civil 
War, and was located northeast of the city one mile. 



72 III>I'|>1M( AL SKi:'|'(Hl-:s 

ilins iiiid months; l)Ut with the ])assiiiir away of tlio "poiiip 
and circiniisrancc <»f war,'' thi* cnimliliiiir. cornidinir hand 
of time and dooav rohbod it of its artititial ^l<:rv, strewn 
tliere hy the hand of art, and k'ft it fur Xatnre to restore 
to it apiin its pristine beauty and h^veliness. And yet, 
bereft td" its eani]) adornments, it ])resonts many ])oints nf 
attraeti<»n, and needs only a willinji' hand, reinforced by 
taste and enterpri-e, tt» restore to it the gb»ry <d' the past. 

Its inaeetssil)ility to visitors, exee])t by water, jjrevents 
it from b.'euminj!; a plaee of more frequent resort for the 
worshipers of Ix'autifnl sei iierv. ]>y row or sail boat noth- 
ing; is more invitii'ir than a jaunt on tlie "ndlinu <h'ep," in 
sprinir's bahuy niorninus, wlien tlie shores of tlie river are 
jjarhuMh'd with myriads of flowers, or in autunui's ealm, 
invij;oratin<j: eveninjjs, when the ])arti-colored foliafre of 
October, in the adjacent forestdined shores, rivals 
in beauty the shimmerinc: meteoric sliowers that stud the 
firmament durinir the twiliirht-ides of a X<»vendK'r eveninu.. 

Yet unadorned by the hand of art, it is an ideal spot for 
lads and lassies to while away the r«»sy hours of day, as 
"lov( 's yonnjr dream" clothes it with a halo of jflory. while 
woodland sonjrsters warble their sweetest notes, embowered 
in the .■NJiady i:rnvcs. and the pipinji notes of ipiail and lark 
e<*h<. i)ack responses from copse ami bush. 

But in cr»ntemj)Iatin{i; these scenes, a tiiifje of sadness 
casts a shadt»w on the winjjs of thoun;ht, as one realizes tluit 
within fh(se precincts forgotten heroes lie, *'unwe])t, un- 
lioimred and unsuufr," who will never more waken until 
Kternity's reveille is sonmled on the rtrediuii: shores of 
time. 



OLD YIXCENNES. 



PEACE TO THEIR ASHES. 

They sers^ed their country in its time of need, 

And tliongh remembered not, in name or deed. 

Their resting place, although their souls have tied, 

Should sacred be, in memory of the dead; 

And honored be the hands, in spring's bright hours, 

That strew their lonely graves with beauteous flowers. 






SUPPOSED LAST TERRITORIAL LEGISLATIVE MEETING HALL. 



Chapter IV. 

FIRSr TOWN AND COL'NTV ORGANIZATIONS. 

SI KSKl^lKXT tt. tlic captuiv of Pcs^t Vinct'imcs l»y 
( 'nloiifl Clark, ('(tloiu'l John Todd was apixiiiitcMl 
Governor and conmiandaiit of it. hv the cxi'futive 
and U'lrislativc couiu-il of \'ir<rinin, whose condiu-t sivnis 
to liavc lu'cn erratic and brief. He arrived in Ma v. 
177'.'. While here he exercised autocratic powers and 
dispose<l of much of the pnldi*- doiimin. althoniih the 
Vir<rinia Lejrislatnre had forhidden sm-h action. He 
ori^anized a court with the f»dlowinu aj)|>idnri'es: ('olniul 
Le Gras, Lonis Kdiline, Pierre Gainelin. and Pierre 
(^inirez ; Le (iras l)ect»inin«r secretarv. Hnt it sit'nis 
that (lovernor Todd .soon tired of this tield of lahor 
and sou«rht j^reener ])a8tnres and a more invitinj; and 
extensive plain- u])nii which his p-nins niiijht disport and 
expand, and left this jilace for Kaskaskia. I'lit. Ind'ore 
leavin<r, he delegated his powers to Mr. Le CJras, his substi- 
tute at the Post, who seems to have had fewer scruples on 
the subject of the right to dis]X)se of lands than his sujje- 
rior. Governor To<ld. Not only did he exercise the i>ower 
of disj)osing of public domain, but he (l{degate<l it to the 
county court, conijx>se<l of four jmlges, organizeil under 
the act of Virginia, and which held their sessions at Vin- 
cennes. They did a wholesale business in the way of dispos- 
ing of tiie public domain, not only to others, but to them- 

-74- 



OLD VmCENNES. 75 

selves, not only by the arpent, but hj "leagues. " The Avay 
it is reported to have been done is this : Three of the four 
judges were left on the bench, while one retired. The court 
then made a grant of so many leagues of land to their 
absent colleague, Avhich act of theirs was entered of record ; 
he returned as soon as the grant was recorded, and another 
of these "eniiined" gentlemen left the bench, while the 
chief justice and the other judges made similar grants to 
their absent friend, said friend returning after such grant 
was duly entered of record ; and so with the fourth.* 

But little is recorded of the doings of this court, except 
the granting to each other good sized farms belonging to 
the donuiin of Uncle Sam. Of these grants to themselves 
and their friends in 1783, 26,000 acres Avas the sum total^ 
and by the year 1787 it had reached the figures of 48,000. 
The transactions of this court having been reported to the 
Washington Government in 1700, Winthrop Sargent, Sec- 
retary of the United States for the ISTorthwest Territory, 
was ordered to investigate the matter. Calling upon this 
court, organized by Governor Todd and given extraordi- 
nary powers, for their reasons for their actions in these 
matters, the members of this august tribunal, through their 
spokesman, replied as follows : ''That since the establish- 
ment of this country, the commandants have always ap- 
peared to be vested with the power to grant lands ; their 
founder, M. de Vincennes, began to give concessions, and 
all his successors have given and gi-a,nted lands and lots. 
^fr. Le Gras was appointed Commandant of Post Vin- 
cennes by the lieutenant of the country, and Commander- 
in-Chief John Todd, who, in the year 1799 was sent by 

'•Law's History, pp. 110, 111. 



76 iii<'i"(»i;i< \i. sKi-yi'i iii-:s 

tho State of \ iririnia lo n_niilatc tin* government of the 
countrv, and \v1k> substituted ^Ir. Le Gras with sueh pow- 
ers. In his absence, Mr. Le Gras, who was tlien conunand- 
ant, assinne<l that lie had e(iual power from the command- 
ant in authority to «rive hinds aerordiuir to ancient usaires 
of otln*r comnuinchints; and lie verhallv informed the court 
of the Post of Vincennes that when thev wouhl judi^e it 
j)roper to give h»ts or hinds they might do it." 

A commission was a])pointed to examine these chiims, 
and as a sjurimen, the chiim of a Mr. Thomas Flower may 
he given. He chiimed an undivi(h'<l third of a grant made 
hy Pierre (Juarez A: Son of a tract (►f hind heginning at the 
Kiver Maria, to White river, ahout ten leagues deep, ex- 
cluding from said grant any land that may have heiMi 
granted. This claim of Mr. Flower, as assigned to l*ierre 
Gamelin. amounted to 40,()()0 aeres. The Todd court and 
these fraudulent claims having heen set asi<le. Secretary 
Sargent proceeded to organize ]\nox cojiuty, which em- 
hraced tin* TerritiU'ies of Indiana and Michigan, ami estah- 
lisli courts having civil and crimimil jurisdiction, and they 
were pri»(daimed organize<l in June, ITlH), the first session 
heing held July 1 [. 17'.*(», hy the judges ap|)ointed, to wit : 
Antoine (lanielin, I'aul Gamelin, Francis Piisseron, Jauu^s 
JiJuKson and Luke Decker. This court was aholished when 
the Territory was estahlisluMl, May T, ISOO, and William 
Clark, Henry Vanch-rhurgh and Jnjm (Irifhu were aj)- 
jtointed hy an Act «d' Congress. 'l\w first term (d' this last 
c<»urt was held in February, ISO], the session In-ing held in 
rented projterty until Iso't, i,, ;, Imuse owneil hy L. P.iza- 
<lon, comer Sec«)nd and Broadway streets; wlicn the hrick 
court house was erected on the corner <d" Fourth auil Hunt in 



OLD VINCENNES. 77 

streets, the sessions were then hehl there. This property 
was sohl and another bnilding' erected (on the square on 
which the present temple of justice stands), which was con- 
tracted for in IS'M and finished in 18-]:^ ; but it, in turn, 
was demolished in ISTo, when the present magnificent 
building was erected at a cost of a half million dollars. 
The courts prevailing here for half a century or more were 
the Circuit, Probate and Court of Common Pleas. The 
circuit judges presiding had jurisdiction in half a dozen 
counties, holding court alternately in each, hence the names 
circuit judges and circuit courts. 

As population and business increased, it was found 
necessary to change the district, and in 1872 the law was 
changed so that a judge should confine his jurisdiction to 
this city, and the Court of Cominon Pleas was then abol- 
ished, the business of that court being transferred to the 
Circuit Court and the circuit judge presided over the con- 
solidated courts. 

The Circuit Court as established at this time is as fol- 
lows: Circuit Judge, Orlando F. Cobb; Prosecuting At- 
torney, W. S. Hoover ; Circuit Clerk, James F. Lewis ; 
Sheriff, Andrew Summitt ; and the balance of the county 
officers are as follows: Treasurer, C. A. Weisert ; Recorder, 
Frank T. Emison ; Auditor, James D. Williams ; Assessor, 
John ]\L Stork ; Commissioners, Henry Frederick, John 
W. JMcGowen, Isaac Henderson ; Coroner, LI. W. Held, 
M. D. ; vSnperintendent Public Schools, Peter Philipi ; 
County Physician, Doctor ISTorman Beckes, and County 
Secretary of the State Board of Health, Lyman M. Beckes, 
:\LD. 



78 IIISTOIMCAL SKETCHES 

TOWN GOVERNMENT— OLD TOWN HALL. 

Xu kiiitl of civil ptverinnent can ha said to have hvvu 
estahlisluMl in N'inccnju's or tlie Territory of tlip Xorthwost 
])rior to the arrival of .lolm 'I'oiM, Ksti-, in .Iiiiic, 177'.*, 
wlioiii. it is sai«l, actiiiii' nmlcr a law jiasscd hy the Vir- 
g'iu\i\ Legislature, established civil and criminal courts; 
but the\' proved to 1k' inefHcient ami ephemeral in character 
to such a dejrroe tiiat Wintiirop Sarjrent, who was sent here 
to organize Knox county, said they **eked out of existence 
in the sununer of 17>«7. ' 

The county havin<r Keen orjfanized, the ('<»urts of (Quar- 
ter Sessions of the Peace and Common Pleas were insti- 
tuted, and a j>rol»jite ju<l}::e appointed, liut the frovernmiMit 
instituted liy him hore eijually on the whole territ(»rv as 
well as the town. 'I'he tirst town <;ovei-nmenl was not or- 
pmized until 1S0."», approved in 1n07, an<l ordinances not 
]uddished until ISOJI, in the Wrs/crn Sun newsjtaper. 
The act of incorjM»ratin^ the town occtirred on Septendu'r 
<). is 14, and was a|»proved 1)V the Territorial Lcirislature 
Fehnniry 2, ISI.'). It emiiraced all that jiortion <»f land 
within the In.unds of Hart street on the northeast. Eleventh 
street on the southeast. Willow street (»n the southwest, and 
the "NVahash river on the northwest. The lands outside 
these houndaries, called Conunons lands (not those em- 
l)race«l hy donations), were jjiven to the town of Vincennes 
hy Couj^ress, with the stij)ulation that the moneys arisiui: 
from the sale thereof should he a])pli(Hl to the drainaire <d' 
the swamp east of town, and that any surplus funds left, 
after such drainajre was paid for, shoidd accrue to the 
Vincennes I'liiversitv Fund (and not he used for town 



OLD VINCENNES. 



79 



purposes, as stated bv Goodspeed in his History of Knox 
County). 

These common hinds amounted to 4,500 acres. The 
town officials sold them in part to the amount of 
$24,224.69, but expended only $15,500, retaining- and 
spending the balance of $8,724.69 for town purposes, con- 




OLD TOWN HALL, ERECTED IN 1837- 

trary to the act of Congress, the University getting nothing. 
The l)alance of the lands, if sold, were not accounted for up 
to 1870."- 

The town organization for a time consisted of a board 
of trustees, who elected their chairman, secretary and 

'■■"Extract from the Report of Colonel C. M. Allen to Trustees of Vineenne3 
University, as Chairman of Committee. 



<n IllSToKK AL SKKTlllKS 

tiviisuii r. 1 lie «>rtic('rs were elected bv tlic peu])le, ami 
were a president, seeretarv and treasurer; all freeholders 
and housekeepers Iwinir deenieil legal voters. 

(imuiid f«>r a market Iikusc was purchaseil, and a mar- 
ket-master apjuiinted ami ordered to ir.cdose the same with 
a fence, with tunisiles at hoth en<ls for injjress and e<rress; 
and market dav was to open at da_vlisi,ht and close at '.» a. m., 
the opening l)eing announced l>y the blowing of a horn. 
Tn isi;> the trustees initiated the first lire co!npany by 
providing **six tire hooks and ladders" an<l re;piiring 
".•very family to ]»roviih- tin mselves with two two-galh»n 
h-athern buckets; but where but one chinmey existed only 
one was retpiired.'' Every citizen was constituted a volun- 
teer niendier of the fire brigaile. In ls."'»(t a Board id 
Health was constituted by tin- appnintment of l)oetors .1. 
1 >. Wolverton, Joseph Somes ;niil William Dinwiddie. Tti 
l^.ll the Cieneral Assend)ly ])assed an a<'t gi-anting a city 
charter, to 1h' ]>assed on by the voters; K. 1*. rrice. .1 udge 
dohii II. Martin and Jose]»h Ko.senuin, Secretaries. Tho 
Vote was small, resulting in twenty-three for and twenty 
against it. The charter was not considered legal and was 
not granted. 

The charter wa.s afterwards aniended so that the town 
government should be known as the President and Trustees 
of the Horough of Vincennes. .\ town hall was erected 
in 1>."'5T, and subsetpiently bail a market attachment, or 
wings added to it, under the same nxd', alxmt thirty feet 
wide and forty feet long, divided in stalls, where market 
was held lri-W(H»kly. (ireengrocers having subseipu^ntly 
supjdietl the place of the market, the old hall was de- 
niolisbecl and the pn-sent beautifid structure was erected 
on the ohl site in ISSG. 



OLD YINCENNES. 81 

This form of goveniniciit olitained until 185"2, when a 
city charter was granted, whic'.i was amended on January 

25, 1855, so as to create the present form for the govern- 
ment of the city, embracing the following officers : Mayor, 
Clerk, Civil Engineer, City Board of Health, Police, 
Weighmaster and City Attorney. The present incumbents 
of office are : Mayor, George W. Rousch ; Treasurer, 
Thos. Eastham ; Clerk, Thomas Robinson ; Attorney, 
Judge W. W. ]Moffatt : City Engineer, Jeremiah Ilershy; 
President Board of Health, Dr. P. H. Caney ; President 
Metropolitan Police Board, I). S. Bonner. The popula- 
tion of the city at present writing is about 12,000. 

GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS— LAND OFFICE. 

Xot many of the present generation are aware that the 
first land office established in the West was located at Vin- 
cennes by an act of Congress, passed and approved March 

26, 1804. As the lands had to be surveyed and other pre- 
liminaries attended to before the office could be placed in 
operation, it did not open until 1807. The first Register 
appointed was Louis Jean Badollet (April 17, lSO-1), the 
grandfather of our worthy fellow-citizen, Henry Badollet, 
Avho held the position, by successive appointments, for 
thirty-two years, and until 1836, when his son, Albert 
Gallatin Badollet, was appointed to succeed him, and held 
the position until 1841. 

There is a little romance connected with the appoint- 
ment of the elder Badollet, as it was received through the 
inlluence of Albert Gallatin, who was then Secretary of 
the Treasury, luider President Jeiferson. Gallatin and 

[6] 



S2 



lllsroIJIcAL SKKT( III-S 



]>a<l<)ll(*t wtTc niitivos of SwirzcrlamK aiul wlicii tlicv liml 
arrivcil at niaiilioud in their native laml, tliev hutli (let<M*- 
uiiiu-<l to oiiiifjratc to America toj^etluT, but when thev 
coiiiitnl n]> tliiir savinus, it was found that their funds 

were too small for the ex- 
penses of both : so tlieyoast 
lots to decide which of the 
two should iro first, and 
tlie lot f(dl to (Jallatin. 
lie was to ^-o and send the 
tirst moneys receivecl l»y 
him after arriviuu' in 
America, for his friend 
Ba<lollet. (iallatin, l)ein«i" 
excejitionally bright and 
enterprisinji', soon was so 
-uccessfulas toaccumtilate 
ciKiUiih money to transmit 
to Ids <lelayed friend. Tn 
<hie ti:ne the two em- 
braced each other on 
American soil, and for a 
time settled in bu>ines> in I'ennsylvania, but ere lon<r they 
•drifted apart. iJadoHet married and settled down, while 
'(iallatin entered into politics, and soon became a factor in 
natiojud atlairs. l>ut they kept in (dose toucli with eacii 
other, ami when Mr. (Iallatin was callcMl to the cabinet of 
Mr. .letferson, .Mr. liadollct havinii' removed to Vincennes, 
the latter, tiirouph the efforts of his friend (iallatin, secured 
t'e appointment of Kefjister of the Land Office at Vin- 
cennes. His faithful service kept him in the same ottiee 




JiiHN BADOI.LET 



OLD VINCENNES. 83 

for tlnrtj'-t^vo years, and got tlie appointment of his son 
to sncceed him. Dr. H. Decker sncceeded Albert Gr. Badol- 
Ict in April, IS-i-f, who in turn was succeeded ])y John 
Meyers in 1841 ; he by James S. Mayes, January, 1817 ; 
he by John C. Clark, June, 1849 ; he by John R. Jones, 
in May, 1853, and he by James S. Mayes, in September, 
1856. The office was closed June 12, 1850, but reopened 
by executive order April 23, 1853, when Jones received 
his appointment, and the office was finally closed December 
£0, 1861. 

K'athaniel Ewing, one of the most distinguished early 
settlers, a man of commanding' influence and wealth, and 
grandfather of our worthy fellow-townsman, the Honor- 
able W. L. Ewing, was the first Receiver of the Land Office, 
and Avas appointed in May, 1807. lie retained office under 
four or five administrations, and until 1824, wdien he was 
siicceeded by J. C. S. Harrison, son of Governor Harrison, 
Febmary, 1824; he by John D. Wolverton, June, 1830; 
he by James P. Drake, August, 1834; he by John Love, 
July, 1838; he by Thomas Scott, March, 1841; he by 
Samuel AYise, the uncle of our worthy fellow-citizens, 
Louis and John B. Wise^ the only living male descendants 
of this numerous and prominent family of the early citi- 
zens of the town. Mr. AVise was succeeded by R. N^. Car- 
nan, the fatlier of our fellow-citizen, William Carnan ; he 
by John C. Lleberd, nncle of the late William Heberd 
and closeh^ related to many of our best citizens; he by 
J. H. E. Sprinkle, in March, 1858; he by George E. 
Green, former editor of the Vincenjies Sun, and father of 
the ex-Mayor, George E. Green, and he by Abner T. Ellis, 
January, 1861, wdio was, in early days, one of the most 



84 HISTOKK AL SKETCHES 

ilistinpuislK'tl citizens of Niiiceniios, and first President of 
the Ohio tV: ^Mississippi Railroad. lie held the position 
oidv until December 20, ISGl, when the office was finally 
cl(»sed. 

In 1N."».'5 must of the jdihlic domain in Indiana had been 
dispost^l of, an<l that was the reason assig:ned for the clos- 
ing of the land otti('<' here at that time; but some swamp 
and hillv lands were yet owned bv Uncle Sam, and the 
othce was reopened by executive order to make a final dis- 
jKisition of them. To facilitate the sale of these waste lands, 
('on«]jress pa.^sed a special act, reducins; the price of them to 
twelve and a half cents ]x»r acre. There were many supe- 
rior small tracts scattered over the State termccl "lost 
lands," where no owners were visible, an<l many swamj) 
lands that could easily be reclaimed, hence there was som 
a rush to the Vincennes Land Office. And soon there was 
done, in this city, trulv "a land office business"; for home- 
seekers and speculators crowdivl the otiice in real Okla- 
homa style, and but a few months ela|)sed until all the lands 
in the State were entered, and Vincennes ceased to 1h^ the 
!Mecca of land brokers. In less than fifty-five years nine- 
tenths of the wild Indian lands of this vast Indiana Terri- 
tory have been retrieved by the Caucasian race, through 
the hands of industry and thrift, and advanced to the pres- 
ent ])innacle of civilization, refinement ami power, and 
until "Iloosienlom" is at a premium in science, literature 
and art. 



OLD YIXCENNES. 



POSTOFFICE. 



Wonderful changes have occurred in the postal system 
since a postoffice was lirst established in Vincennes. The 
first commnnication between this place and the land of 
civilization was through armed convoys, and at long inter- 
vals ; then came the "post rider" with his big saddle-bags 
and his tin horn, which he blew stentoriously on nearing a 
wayside inn, postal station or town. In the early part of 
the nineteenth century the post rider gave way, on main or 
State roads, to the old stage coach, which continued to be 
the vehicle of conveyance of the mail and travelers for a 
full half century, and until the steamboat and railroad 
supplanted and relegated it to the rear, much to the sorrow 
of many of the old inhabitants, who had been accustomed 
for so many years to listen to the patter of the hoofs of the 
horses pulling the swaying old coach, and listening to the 
stae'eman's horn music as it floated out on the summer 
evening's air, sounding over hill and valley. Its music 
was the courier bearing good news from the outer world, 
and tidings from the busy throngs within the hives 
of civilization. But progress marks the westward tide 
of empire, and old things and practices must sooner 
or later give way to the new in the process of evo- 
lution, though they, in so doing, burv' forever the sweet- 
est memories of earlier years. In the new order of things, 
are the people happier now than then ? The elderly say 
that those were the happiest days of their lives, when there 
was an absence of conventionalism, when ever^'body knew 
everybody else, and society Avas untranieled, save by the 
laws of justice, virtue and love. In the beginning of the 



8() HISToifK AL sK1-:TCIIES 

iiiiictcciitli cciiturv, wlicii n-uiilar ]»iistiil (Muimmuifatinii 
was cstaUlislu'd with the rest of the world, it nHiuin'tl ahout 
six weeks to send and rweive a reply to a letter in the 
East ; now they are sent and the answeis received in al)ont 
four days, or less liiiir. 

riic tirst jxistotiiee I'stalilished in N'incennes was when 
(iineral W. Johnson, a distin<!:nished and ahle man, and 
who has l>een noticed elsewhere, was appointed postmaster, 
oil April 1. 1 "><•(». II is snccessors have Ix'en the following, 
in the order naiiie«l: Henry Hnrst, A]>ril 1, 1S02; Wni. 
U. Conpeland, Jnly 1. IsOl'; William I*rinee, Jannary 1, 
180.'}; (Jcneral W. .Inlmsmi. .Inly 1. iSO.'i; William 
l*rinee, March :)1, 1 M i' : .lolni 1 ). Hay, .Inly 1. 1M:{; 
George K. ('. Snllivan, March s, IMT; Samuel Hill, April 
.5, 1S27 : .Tohn Scott, Se])tendier 7, 1821> ; .Tames W. GretMi- 
how, Septemlier 27, ls4.'): Klilin Stont, Angnst Ki, ls4."»; 
Lewis I.. W:it-Mii. May 12, ls4!>; .James Dick, ^Marcli 2r), 
lsr>.'{: .lohn .Moore, April «>, lsr)7: Hnhhard M. Smith, 
March 28, 1801; William X. Denny, Ajn-il S, 1800; 
William D. Lewis, .Tannary •')•», ls>2; .lames K. Kackley, 
^lay 2<',, iss,-); Allen Timhdph, .hine 2.'). Issit; llr.yal E. 
Purcell, April 8. ls«t:5. and Thomas II. Adams, May i:{, 
l'^'.»7, who is the present incnndient, ami who was reaji- 
pointed May i:], 11M>2. 

The Vincennes ottice was a receiving and distrihnting 
de]>ot for the wliole Xorthwest for many years; it received 
mail matter from adjacent ottices when mail |»ackages W(»re 
made np for the important cities in the East. This oftice 
continiUMl to he a distrihnting one, within circnmscrihed 
honmlaries, as the X<»rth and West became settled, nntil 
alwut 1N<'»4, ami the postmaster's salary was regnlated by 



OLD VINCENNES. 87 

the anioiiiit of matter handled by him, he being' aHowed 
a per cent, for receiving and remailing the postal matter. 
Abont this time the laAV was changed and the office became 
a salaried one, the amonnt being regnlated and based npon 
the local bnsiness, and that law yet obtains. Dnring the 
time that Hnbbard M. Smith held the position of post- 
master, the money order business was established, and the 
postmaster was allowed a small per cent, npon the number 
of orders issued, this being the only perquisite addi- 
tional to his salary. When the office was a per cent, 
one, unless the sum exceeded $5,000 per annum, the 
postmaster received only the per cent., let it be little or 
much, without any allowance for clerk hire ; if the business 
exceeded $5,000, then he received a $5,000 salary and 
clerk hire. This law was unjust and inequitable, and the 
postmaster had to pay out sometimes almost as much 
for assistauts as his personal salary amounted to. During 
the Civil War, when the mails became heavy, $300 per 
anninn was allowed for a clerk. The business demanded 
two assistants, and the postmaster was expected to make 
up the deficiencies for clerk hire from his own pocket. 
During the first years of the Civil War, the post- 
master paid out nearly all he received from the Gov- 
ernment for the clerical force of the office, and a 
mere pittance remained for his own services. But 
about 1867, the postmaster, in nuiking \\\) his quarterly 
reports, added to his expense account the sum of $90 and 
the Department was kind and considerate enough to allow 
same in his annual settlement. This stretch of benevo- 
lence and justice did not show itself in all of the depart- 
ments of the Government. As a matter of history, the 



88 IIISTOKH AL SKF.TCIIKS 

writer should a<l<l an additional word alxiut "shin plan- 
ters,'' as our postal eurrencv was dononiinatod durinjr the 
Civil War. Some of tiic old inhahitants will renu'udKM' that 
after the war h;i<l well ciiiimicnci'l, all _ir<>ld disappeared 
from eireidati<»n, and soon foll(»wed the disa]>]n'aranee oi 
silver coin. The jxx>])le were i>ut to sueh straits for small 
chan«;e that a few men issue<l personal eheeks, from live 
cents up to tifty, one Watson, at Tcrre Haute, and one 
James, at Ri><*k])ort, I think, supplying the demand. The 
(jovernnient at last eame to the rescue and issued i>ostal 
eurrencv of the denomiiuitions of five, ten, twenty-live anil 
tifty cciits. A hatch of $0,01)0 was sent to the postmaster 
here and ho was ludd responsihle for same, in ptod money, 
whether it was hunie<l or stolen. It was to he jriven out to 
business men for i::reenhacks, as change. It did not i)rove 
a Ixdianza to the postnuister. But the tale is t04i lon«; to tell 
and I will only eite the reader to what was one of his 
''tales of woe" incident thereto. Tn those days the (dder 
citizens will i'ei:iend)er that the oidy money in cir<*ulation 
was greenhacks and jxistal currency, individiuil pr()missorv 
notes, and counterfeit hills were not infrequent; and all 
nuitilated hills, whether treasury notes or postal hills, were 
retpiiiecl to he accepted for postafje stainp> hy the ]>iist- 
master, he heiiiir ordered so to do, and to transmit the same 
hv niail to the Treasurer of the I nited States, who was to 
return a draft in exchauije for same to the postmaster. 
Postmaster Smith, hv ordi'r, was eompidled to comply with 
this unjtist rulini::, as will he s'.iown. lie was fi>rtunate 
in «r<'ftinir e«piivalents hack after transmissions ireuerally. 
hut he was "left with the poiirh to hoM" on one hatch sent 
off to the amount of $4-'>. Althouu:h sent from his otHce in 



OLD VmCENNES. 89 

a through brass lock pouch for Indianapolis, the mail train 
was burned on which this pouch was being- carried, and 
l)ecause no speck of the bills was found by the special mail 
agent, W. X. Tyner, refusal was made of ]iayment to the 
postmaster. It was proved by witnesses that the money 
was mailed, and that it was wholly burned, but because no 
vestige of the bills was found, Uncle Sam, who "is rich 
enough to give us all a farm," through his overscrupulous 
Secretary of the Treasury, Spinner, denied justice to the 
postmaster. After many years, when principal and interest 
amounted to neiirly $100, the congressman from the Vin- 
cennes district succeeded in getting a bill for reimburse- 
ment before the House to the point of having it printed, 
and there it stuck. Correspondents all over the country 
took up the case, and all said a long deferred just bill was 
al)out to be paid by the Government, in which opinion they 
lamentably erred. "Corporations have no souls," it is said, 
and the only consolation that the then postmaster now has 
left to him in liis declining years is the knowledge of his 
having stock in the father of all corporations — the United 
S ates Government — and he can advisedly say, "'this is 
my Government," if he is but a small junior partner. 

The writer's first experience in postage tax, where the 
amount was paid in money (it being prior to the time of 
stamps), and according to the distance the letter was car- 
ried, when under G(!0 miles, and near that, it was twenty- 
five cents per half ounce. Xot having sent letters a dis- 
tance exceeding 600 miles, the highest cost to him was that 
sum from Kentucky to Missouri. What a drop in post- 
a<re, from twenty-five cents for 000 miles, to two cents from 
San Francisco to Europe, a distance of at least 6,000 miles ! 
Penny postage is the next step in postal progression. 



Chapter V. 

SCHOOLS— VINCENNES UNIVERSITY. 

VIXCENNES, being one of the first settled towns 
in the West, early became an important base for 
military operations, and especially dnring' the 
close of the eighteenth centnry. The United States 
Government, having permanently possessed this region 
throngh the foresight and brilliant strategy of General 
George Rogers Clark, in 1779, it soon became the 
seat of the Territorial Government, whose jnrisdiction 
embraced mncli of the Xorthwest, including Illinois 
and Michigan. The influx of population, following the 
organization of a Territorial Government, at this 
point, especially of the enterprising educated class of 
people, brought it into such prominence that the establish- 
ment of a seat of learning was soon determined on, and 
Congress was petitioned to, and did, on March 4, 1804, set 
apart one entire township of land for th^ benefit of a 
seminary of learning in the Yincennes land district, and 
the Secretary of the United States Treasury, on October 
10, ISOO, selected and set apart Township Xo. 2, south 
range eleven west, situated in Gil)son county. In pursuance 
thereof, and to carry out the intention of Congress, the 
Territorial Legislature of Indiana passed an act November 
29, 1806, and supplemented the same by an act passed 
Septendjer 17, 1807, incorporating the Vincennes Uni- 
versity in the name and style of "Board of Trustees for the 

-91- 



92 IIISTOTJK AL >KF.T(HKS 

Vinccimcs riiiversity," and recognized it as the recipient 
an<l l)f'n('tic'iarv of the aforesaid jrift of hin<ls <h)nate<i by 
Congress. This act of the Territorial ( '<MUicil and Ilonse of 
Representatives ordained, '^tliat an \iniversity hi* and is 
hereby institnted and incorporated, within this territory, to 
he caUed and known hy the name and style of the Vin- 
cennes Tniversity. and that Wni. Henry Harrison. John 
Gibson, Thomas M. 1 ):ivis, Henry \'anderl)nrgh. Waller 
Taylor, lienjamin Parke, Peter Join's, Sanniel Johnson. 
John liadolK't, John Kice Jones, Geo. Wallace, William 
linllitt, Elias ^IcXamee, Henry Hnrst, Geo. Johnson, 
Francis Vigo, Jaci>h Kuyken<hill. Samuel ^leKee, Na- 
thaniel Kwing, (leo. Li'ach, Luke Decker, and Samuel 
Gwathmey are hereby tleclared to he the trustees of said 
University, and the said trustees and their success<irs be. 
and they are lu-reby create<l, a ImkIv corporate and politic 
by the name of the Board of Trustees for the Xincennes 
University, and are hereby onlaine«l, established, and de- 
clared to be forever hereafter a body politic and curpcirate 
in fact and in name and by that name they, and their 
successors, shall and nuiy have continual succession and 
shall l)e ]»ersoiis in law ca])able of suing and being sued, 
pleading and Iwiiig imj)lead(Ml, an>\veiMng an<l In-iiig an- 
swered, defending and K'ing defi'nde<l in all courts and 
places whatever, and that they and their successors nniy 
have a common seal and nnike and alter the same at their 
])lea>»ire, als<> that the said trustees shall not at any time 
h(dd or j)ossess more than 100, 000 acres of land." This 
act emjdiasized the broad and libi'ral heartiness with which 
the Legi.slature entered into and sanctioned the idea of 
Congress in it.-; aim to biiild up at Vinccnnes a great educa- 



OLD YIXCENNES. 93 

tioiial institution. The general Government having passed 
an act to give a second township of land for the same pur- 
pose (locating it in ]Monroe county), the Indiana Legis- 
lature evidently intended, at that time, to apply the pro- 
ceeds of this second township of land to the upbuilding of 
the Vincennes LTniversity, as evidenced by the provisions 
in the act restricting the institution from acquiring more 
than 100,000 acres of land. This inference is a clearly le- 
gitimate and reasonable one. An additional evidence that 
the Territorial Legislature intended that this school should 
be the leading one of the State may be found in the liberal 
and extensive provisions of its charter. It not only pro- 
vided for a collegiate eoiirse of study, embracing literature 
and the sciences, but gave it the right to establish chairs of 
law, medicine and theology ; also granting it the right to 
confer degrees, in the several departments, to students and 
eminent scholars. It also empowered the board of trustees 
to establish a grannnar school and a female department, 
also requiring the board to receive into the institution any 
Indian scholars 'Svho, when sent, shall be maintained, 
clothed and educated at the expense of said iiistitution." 
To accomplish this, small donations would have been inade- 
quate, and hence the inevitable conclusion that both town- 
s^'ips of land in Gibson and ^lonroe counties were intended 
f(.r the use of the Vincennes University. Any other con- 
clusion must presuppose that the members of Congress and 
t':e Legislature knew^ but little of the expensive require- 
ments of such an institution, which w^as certainly not the 
case. In the act incorporating the University, under the 
management of a board of trustees, power was given them 
by Congress to '"sell, transfer, convey and dispose of any 



Id IIISTUKKAL SKKTLllKS 

<liiautity not exceeding 4,000 acres of snid lane'.," wliicli 
they i)n«-ti'ilecl to do, by sale and lease, after the orjraniza- 
tion of the Iward of trustees, which elected Governor Wil- 
liam Henry Harrison, president; James Johnson, treas- 
urer, and Cieneral W. Johnson, clerk, after which a]>i)ro])ri- 
ate c(»mmittees were ai)i)ointed to carry out the intentions 
of ('on«i:ress and the Leiiisiature hy the estaVdishment of 
a University. The committee on huildinir scdected two par- 
cels of land, adjoininjjc, from Henry Van<lerl)iirirh and 
Colonid Francis Vii!:<», forminj; nearly f<Mir squares, and he- 
inj; lioun<le(l hy Perry, Sixth, Hart and Ftiurth streets, 
the finest an<l most suitahle Ideality in the hnnmjih for the 
college ground. At this early period huihling material was 
scarce -iin<l e.\])ensive, contractors were few and the reve- 
nue fi"(ini the lands sjuw in liciiii: i'e:ili/.e<l ; which facts 
greatly haiidieappe<l the trustees in their action. It was 
not until Ai)ril 10, isil, that the large two-story hriek 
building, located in the center of the ])lot of groinid. was 
tcnantable and availal)le for sclnwd p\u"i)oses, when the 
Keverend Samiu-l T. Scott, a Presbyterian minister, was 
selected to open and take charge of an English sch(»ol 
therein. The small revenue from the sale of the lands, 
having Ik'cu consmned in the purchase of ground and the 
erection of the building, and more funds In'ing n(vde<l to 
finish and equip the .school, as well as to ,)ay teachers, the 
board |x*titioned Congress, A] »ri] l<i, I'^^Hi. tt> permit it to 
sell the remaining P.1.000 acres of the (iibson county lands, 
Imt the committee to whom the matter was referred rejxtrt- 
ed adversely, saying '*it is inexpedient to sell at this time." 
In 1S18 the trustees re|X'titioned Congress for iH-rmission 
to sell the lands at not less than $10 jur acre (as thev 



OLD YINCENNES. 05 

needed the fniids to build np the school) at public auction, 
hut the petition was rejected. Although hampered by lack 
of funds the school was uuiking fair progress, its trustees 
and friends being buoyed up with the hope and expectation 
that at no distant day they Avould realize from the renting 
•of its lanils a sufficient endowment fund to meet the ex- 
penses incident to its growth and increased educational 
necessities. But, with the passing years and the increase 
in population in the eastern and northern parts of the 
State, a jealousy sprang up from these sections against the 
southern portion of the State which was soon manifested 
by legislative action against the Vincenn3S University, the 
same influences acting that caused the removal of the seat 
of government of the Territory from Vinconnes to Cory- 
don. On the 20th day of January, 1S20, Bloomington 
College was given a charter, and, quickly following this 
action, on the 23d of January, 1820, the Legislati-re, as- 
suming that the State, in its organized capacity, owned 
the Vincennes University lands, donated to the University 
by special act of Congress, passed an act appointing com- 
missioners to take possession of said lands and rent them 
and turn the proceeds into the State Treasury. Thus it oc- 
curred, without a vestige of legal right, equity or law, that 
the remaining 19,000 acres of unsold land of the Univer- 
sity were wrested from the trustees by force, under the 
claim of State inheritance. But it will be seen that the 
solons had some qualms of conscience about this high- 
lianded procedure of appropriating these lands, for they 
took steps to give the State the senddance of a title to 
them through an attem])t, by legislation, to obliterate the 
University from existence. In order to accomplish this 



jm; histokk ai. skktciies 

)>urj><ist\ in lMi4 an act was pa:?so(l a;teni]>tino- to trans- 
ti»rn» tilt' Inivcrsity into a new cTeaturc inuler the name' 
ami style of the *'Km<>.\ ('onnty Seniinarv.'' ]W this act 
Vincennes Tniversity was (leprive<l of its lands, Imihlinir, 
apitaratus, fiirnitnre, and even its book of record. JJy this 
unjust pnx'ediire the University was compelled to give up 
all its possessions and he tr.msfornied into an institution 
entirely fureiirn to the kind eonteni]>]ateil hy ("onijress, and 
thus, for the time heinir, the Vincennes University, on 
April l'4, 1S2-1, passed un<l('r thehaleful shadow tif wnniiT 
and injustice, in this metamorphosis into the **Kno.\ 
('ounty Seminary" it was stipulated by the Legishiture 
that the institiition shouM be under the control of tlie (dd 
imiird *i\' trustees of the University: but they paid little 
attention to the mandate, and an inter-regntim of four 
years exists lietween the enactment of this law, attempting 
t4) disfranchise the University, and the first meeting of the 
Kn<ix County Seminary trustees, which occurred Octolnn* 
."{, 1S:2H. The blow dealt the University in 1S24 gave Vin- 
cennes eilucators a backset, and they did not take kindly 
tr» the new institution. The power, privileges and responsi- 
bilities having been taken from the obi l)oard of trustees, 
they ceasi'il to be active in educational matters, and the 
new board (which di<l not meet luitil ls:.>S, four years after 
(iisjmssessing the (dd i)o;ird ) acted with very little spirit. 
In this connection it would be well to state, for a full un- 
derstanding of the; conditions existing, that there appears 
to have Ikhmi a dual board of trustees, as will be evidenced 
later, the «dd board continuing its existence, although there 
are n<» continuous nrords to show the fact, their record- 
book having Ik'cu taken by the new board. In the mean- 



OLD VINCENNES. 97 

time, during' this hiatus, the school building-, having never 
been completed, was deteriorating- for want of care to such 
an extent that squatters took possession and continued to 
occupy it at will, tilling it up with household goods, using 
the campus for the pasturage of animals and the basement 
as a stable for horses. The State, having appropriated the 
income of the University to Blooming-ton, said to its Knox 
County Seminary trustees: "ISTow, you take possession of 
the University building and its property and make the 
Seminary flourish." It gave them nothing to endow it, nor 
even complete the buildings, yet expected miracles of edu- 
cation to be wrought. To show that the picture is not over- 
draA\ni relative to the Knox County Seminary building as 
rechristened, I quote from its board's record of a meeting 
held on January 22, 1831. On motion of John Holland, a 
new trustee, it was ^'Resolved, That from and after this 
date, there shall not be allowed any family, person or per- 
sons, to occupy any part of the house except those who 
are engaged in the business of teaching, and the scholars, 
l^either shall there be allowed any horse, cow or liog, or any 
other animal whatsoever, to run at large in said Seminaiy 
lot, or be kept in any of the lower rooms, called the cellar, 
to the injury of the lot or cellar rooms." And from the 
wording of another resolution offered at the same meeting, 
one would infer that the building contained a pandemo- 
nium Avhere blue, white, black and gray spirits often held 
high carnival. It reads: "And, be it further Resolved, 
That a committee of three be appointed whose duty it shall 
be to visit the Seminary as frequently as the affairs and 
business of the institution may require, to hear and de- 
termine all matters of dispute and to preserve good order 

m 



98 HISTORICAL SKI-.TrilES 

generally in <>r alxnit the house and preservation of tJie 
lot." This Ciuiditiou of the institution was but a natural 
sequence of ill-advised and unjust legislative action. 

"The Knox (bounty Seminary," masquerading in the 
habiliment.^ of the Vincennes University, maintained a 
freearious existence during the next few years; its new 
hoard of tnistees having no heart in the project, held no 
meetings from ()ctol>er, 1832, until .lime, 1835, during 
which year they met but once, and the next and last meet^ 
ing was held on August 25, 1S30, when it cease<l to be an 
active IkhIv, although it held control of the Seminary build- 
ing and grounds. The new hoard ceasing to he a factor in 
educational work and the State having failed to extinguish 
the University, the latter's board resumed the office taken 
from them in 1824 and reorganized June 11, 1838. The 
Ileverend Alcxainlcr was elected president and George R. 
(libson secretary. (As they had been rol>bed of their en- 
dowment, they had no use for a treasurer.) Having par- 
tially recovered from the embarrassment, as a result of the 
State's unjust action, the board reasserted itself, and at its 
first meeting appointed a committee to recover the old rec- 
ords and n^piire the board of trustcK^s of the lx)rough of 
Vincennes to rciKhM- an account of the disposition of the 
funds of the commons land (arising from its sale) above 
the amount necessary to drain an adjacent pond, authorized 
by Congress April 20, 1818. At the next meeting of the 
University lx>ard of trustees, October 5, 1839, Honorable 
A. T. Ellis, a deh^ate from and in l>ehalf of the *'Knox 
County Seminary" board, appeare<l and relinquished all 
claim to the ground and building, thereby acknowledging 
that his l>oard had no legal right to the property. 



OLD VINCENNES. 99 

During the time the building' was in the possession of 
the Seminary board it deteriorated and debts had accumu- 
lated against the property, and he then recommended that 
the University board of trustees adopt some plan to liquid- 
ate the claims ag'ainst the property and of preventing fur- 
ther dilapidation of the building. Thus it was that the orig- 
inal University board of trustees, after a lapse of fifteen 
years, resumed control of some of its property which legis- 
lative action had deprived it of in 1824. In the interval 
between the time of dispossession and restoration debts had 
accumulated against the University to the amount of 
$1,830.40, and the assets of the "Knox County Seminary" 
were nil. After deliberation on the institution's financial 
condition, it was deemed wise to lease or sell the property 
to meet the indebtedness. A proposition was received from 
the president of St. Gabriel's College to purchase, and the 
same was accepted, and for the sum of $6,500 the holdings 
of the University passed into the hands of the Catholics of 
Vincennes. Upon the receipt of funds, by the sale of the 
property, the board of trustees took steps to purchase an- 
other lot with a view toward erecting a smaller building in 
which to start a grammar school. In the meantime they 
rjnted a brick building near the corner of Fifth and Mar- 
ket (now Main) streets, and secured the seiwices, July, 
1840, of the Reverend B. B. Killikelly, an Episcopal min- 
ister, to take charge, with Mr. Chestnut as assistant 
teacher. Lot 191, corner Fifth and Busseron streets, on 
which the present University building now stands, was 
purchased of Dr. Hiram Decker for $500. The Reverend 
Killikelly remained in charge of the institution until July, 
1842, when he tendered his resignation for the purpose of 

L. 31 yj. 



]()(» IIISTOKK AL SKKTCHES 

visitinjj^ Eumpe in the interests of his church and uni- 
versity. During the legislative session of 1843 a l)ill was 
passed authorizing the board doing county business in 
Knox county to seize on all the assets of the University. 
But it seems that this law prove<l a dead letter, as no such 
proceduiv was attempted or accomplishetl. The University 
hoard entered a pi'otest and engaged legal counsel to defend 
the institution's rights. Soon after a committee was ai> 
pointetl, ^fay, 1843, to take steps looking to the erection 
of a schotd building, but the matter was subsequently aban- 
doned, for the time being, for the want of funds. In the 
fidlowing June the board met and apjwinted a committee 
whose duty it was to recover, if possible, the Gibson 
county lands. Before taking any decisive step the opinion 
of riiancellor James Kent was souglit, and, in Deceml>er, 
1843, the board authorized tlie Honorable Sanuiel Judah 
to collate the facts and laws relating to the right of the 
University to these lands and send them to Judge Kent for 
a legal opinion on the same. The cliancellor, after examin- 
ing all the acts of Congi'ess and the Legislature of Indiana 
on the subject, sent an elaborate and exhaustive opinion in 
favor of the University's contention, saying, in conclusion : 
"I am of the opinion that the Legislature of Indiana is 
Iwiund by the most imperious obligations of justice and 
lioMor to indenmify the LTniversity f(»r this unconstitu- 
tional arrest and detention of their property." Encouraged 
l)v such eminent legal authority, as to the rights of the 
University, the Iward of trustees autliorized Samuel JiKhdi 
and A. T. Kllis to prosecute its claims to the Gibson county 
lands, ami suits were enterwl against the occupants. 
This action created consternation and excitement, as the 



OLD VINCENNES. 101 

holders were innocent purchasers, and a small rebellion 
was inaugurated and violence was threatened to the attcr- 
n3ys of the University if they persisted in the prosecution 
of the suits, the only recourse left to the trustees for re- 
dress, as they could not sue the State. After some prelimi- 
nary litigation an understanding was reached between the 
contesting attorneys, to the effect that the Senators and 
Representatives from Knox and Gibson counties should se- 
cure the passage of an act giving permission to the Uni- 
versity board to bring suit agaiubt the State in the Marion 
County Circuit Court to determine the right of ownership 
of said lands. This bill was passed in 1846, and the board's 
attorneys were authorized to bring suit at once. The case 
was tried and the ]\larion C^ounty jury awarded the Uni- 
versity $30,090.06 for that part of the lands the State had 
already sold. The State appealed the case to the Supreme 
Court, which reversed this decision at the spring term, 
1850. An appeal was then taken to the Supreme Court 
of the United States by the attorneys for the University, 
and, in 1852, that court set aside the action of the Indiana 
Supreme Court, holding that the lands belonged to the 
University. In the delivery of the opinion of the court, tlie 
Chief Justice said: "The claim is a just one, and if the 
reservations of these lands had been judiciously managed 
they would have constituted a fund at this time (1852) 
of $200,000." After this decision the State of Indiana 
made another effort to deprive the University of its charter 
and secured the services of five of the best lawyers in the 
State to gain its purpose. They attempted to show that the 
University board of trustees had lost its charter through 
neglect, but it was found that there was no evidence to 



102 HISTOEICAL SKETCHES 

show tliat tlio ohartcr "had ever heen forfeited hy any act 
or omission of the board," and that the corporation had 
been in a state of continuity ever since the organization, 
the University lx)ard having been appointed by the legis- 
lature to assume control of the ''Knox County Seminary," 
the succession was maintained unbroken. This last attempt 
to extinguish the Vincennes University failed. Having 
forcibly seized the lands, lot, buildings, furniture, appa- 
ratus and even its records, so if possible to blot it out of 
existence; having tried to discourage, demoralize and scat- 
ter, by circunistiinces and death, tlie mend)ers of the Ixtard, 
thus seeking to make a l)r( ak in the succession, and thereby 
make void the charter, was an act of unjust proce<lun'. 

BatHe<l in this last effort to destroy the University, the 
Ix'gislature in 18r)5 ])asse<l an indemnifying act, for the 
benefit of the University, which was less than one-tenth of 
its indebte<lness. 

The Knox County Seminary, having no funds with 
which to build a schoolhouse, borrowed some of the money 
arising out of the sale of their building from the Univer- 
sity trustees, and erected a house on the latter's lot, mort- 
gaging the pro])orty for payment of same. The mortgagetl 
debt maturing, the house was sold, and reverted to the 
University. 

Tt was in this building the academic de]iartment was re- 
instate<l in ISTjO, with the Keveren<l K. ^1. Chapman presi- 
dent, since which time the school has been in successful 
operation. In* the same year the trustees bought the l<^t di- 
agonally across the street (corner Fifth an<l Bus.seron), and 
for $2,.']00 erected a building to be used as a female de- 
partnieni. Tliis building was condncted successfully for 



OLD VINCENNES. 103 

some time, but several years later the schools were consoli- 
dated in the brick building. To resume the line of history 
of the contention of the University with the State, it was 
aft-er a half century of enforced litigation by the former, 
in defense of its rights, its lands and its franchises, caus- 
ing thereby the expenditure of large sums of money in the 
way of court and attorneys' fees and the enforced sacrifices 
of its building's and gTOunds, that the Legislature doled 
out, not what the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of 
the United States declared was due the Vincennes Univer- 
sity, i. e., -$200,000, but State bonds to the amount of $66,- 
565 for lands already sold. This did not account for 2,200 
acres of land unsold (and not accounted for to this day), 
and was not a tithe of the indebtedness. 

After the long and costly fight for its rights it gained a 
victory of $41,565, inclusive of the court and attorneys'' 
fees arising out of the original contract. Subtracting the 
amount of court and attorneys' fees in obtaining the latter 
settlement, the institution in fact realized not two-thirds 
of the award. It will be observed that after nearly half a 
century of contention for the magnificent endowment given 
by Congress, this small pittance was turned into the treas- 
ury of the University, as restitution money. In 1878, hav- 
ing well husbanded the money received from the State, and 
the school having outgrown its home, it was resolved by the' 
trustees to erect a more modern and commodious building' 
on its ground, the site of the "Knox County Seminary,'* 
which would l)e more suitable to the wants of advanced edu- 
cation. The present beautiful structure was completed in 
August, 1878, at a total cost of $14,616. The school pros- 
pered and the building was soon found inadequate to ac- 



lot HISTORICAL SKP:TCHES 

conimotlate the patroiiagt» of iidditiuiial students. As a rc> 
siilt, in 1889, and at a co^t of $4,180, an addition to the 
south and west end was ereeted. The War Department, 
liaving designated the Vincennes University as one of the 
institiitions where nnlitarA- science might he taught, an 
officer was detailed for this instruction, and, so successful 
had this hraneh proved, that, when war was declared with 
Spain, in ls!>s, he had organized a full company of ca- 
dets, well drilletl and fully equipped to enter into the fight 
for maintaining the prestige and honor of our country. 
This was the first volunteer company to offer its sen-ices 
to the (iovermtr of the State, and the only full company 
of cadets sent hy any State institution of learning in the 
I'nion to engage in the Spanish War. The comi)any of 
University cadets formed a part of the ir)9th Regiment of 
Indiana Volunteers and was in service for one year, 
although they were not sent to the front on account of the 
s|X'e<ly con('lusi(>n (»f the war. This was the first ojtjxir- 
t unity the University had to return in any degree the fa- 
vors shown it hy the Government for its magnificent dona- 
tion in 1S06, and the episode will Ix' recorded as one of 
the hrightest in its history. 

From time to time the Legislature has heen petitioned 
for redress. Imt without avail until 1895, when an apj>ropri- 
jition was made for $!."», 000, for which the State exacted a 
receijH in full of all demajids from the University. As 
this sum <lid not pay the deht it was not accepted hy the 
University, as an ade<juate settlement of the claim, and the 
Honorable Basil (iaither, Knox County's Representative, 
enteretl a fonmil protest, in Ixdialf of the institution, to 
giving a receipt in full, and the protest was recorded in the 



OLD VmCENNES. 105 

House Journal of the Fifty-ninth General Assembly. In 
the Sixtieth General Assembly, 1897, another bill was in- 
troduced for an additional sum with a view toward liqui- 
dating- the State's indebtedness to the University, but the 
appropriation was defeated by a small majority. With the 
intention of liquidating the State debt to the University, 
the Sixty-first General Assembly, in March, 1899, passed 
a bill authorizing an issue of 4 per cent, bonds for $120,- 
000, payable in twenty years. This bill was passed by 
almost a unanimous vote in the Senate, there being only 
four votes against it. The House passed it by 64 ayes, 29 
nays. Through some misinformation, or lack of a full 
knowledge of the real merit of the claim, Governor James 
A. Mount failed to sign the bill, and in the closing hours 
of the session the matter was referred to the next General 
Assembly, and, at the suggestion of the Governor, the presi- 
dent of the Senate appointed a committee of three to ex- 
amine into the merits of the claim and report the facts to 
the next succeeding Legislature. 

The committee of the Senate appointed examined the 
claims of the University during vacation, and reported 
favorably, and the bill came up again the following session, 
in March, 1901, and passed the Senate by a vote of 30 to 
15. The House connnittee to which the liill had been re- 
ferred strangled it, and it was never reported to the House 
for fear of its passage. Economy in this case usurped the 
place of justice, which must and will eventually prevail. 
The indebtedness of the State to the University, when tliis 
bill was presented, amounted to $703,695. It will be seen 
from the foregoing facts and figures, which can not be suc- 
cessfully controverted, that the great and prosperous State 



106 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

of Indiana is indebted to its first bom educational institu- 
tion, which it Avamied into life, then abandoned, after con- 
fiscating its inheritance, and has to the present time held 
back the dispensing hand of justice, and hesitates to re- 
store its rights upon the score of economy or that the indebt- 
edness is too old to pay. Honesty, truth and right are eter- 
nal principles, uninfluenced by time or circumstances, and 
will |)orish only with eternity. Tlie University does not 
a.sk a donation, l)ut pleads for only partial restoration of 
what is its due. 

The State is not too poor to pay its debts, as it gives 
more than $1^00, ()(K) annually to three institutions of learn- 
ing; and. during (Jovenior Mount's term of oflSce, Leopold 
Levy paid imiiuitiircd bonds to the amount of nearly $700,- 
000, ignoring for the time an old saered debt. (i«»venior 
Mount luid a laudaide and)itif>n in trying to make his ad- 
ministration an economical one; but if $120,000 had been 
deducted from the amount paid bondholders and applied 
toward liciuithitiiig the University debt (as recx>mmended 
by 1h»i1i till' Senate and the House) the sum total of the 
canceleil indebtedness would have been the same as it now 
stands. Tiie State should i»e just first, and generous when 
able to l>e so. 

In 1SJ>S, realizing the necessity for more nnnn to accom- 
modate the growing patronage, the trustees purchased the 
adjoining lot, nund»er 190, facing (^n Broadway, from A. 
(iimbel heirs, at a cost of $7,000, hoping to soon add a 
wing to the main building which wouhl contain a large 
room suitable for an armory. Besides providing for more 
students by this purchase, the groiuuls are now enlarged 
to a full half sipiare, surrounded by and onuiuiented with 



OLD VmCENNES. 107 

beautiful shade trees, most of which were planted in 
1856. 

Since the above was written the old Decker property has. 
been acquired by the University, giving it still larger 
grounds for its use, for the sum of $4,350. All that is now 
lacking to have the Vincennes University enlarged and 
thoroughly equipped is the payment by the great and rich 
commonwealth of Indiana of its just and long-deferred 
dues. The University will then assert its power, and, Avith 
dignity, can take up its line of march abreast of the age, 
in all the branches of literature and art that beautify and 
enrich our civilization and our State. By such payment 
the State will have lifted from its shoulders a debt almost 
criminal in its effects, and enjoy the sweet peace of con- 
science in the act of having performed a long-delayed duty 
to the first established educational institution in the West ;; 
and where our country's flag was first planted and, unfurl- 
ing, was first kissed by the glowing lips of Ajuerican Lib- 
erty. 

The University, although entitled by its charter to con- 
fer degi'ees on its graduates and persons who have distin- 
gmished themselves in the field of literature, has been chary 
in the exercise of this right, and up to this time only two 
honorary degrees have been conferred ; the first of D. D., 
in 1842, upon one of its former presidents, the Reverend 
Killikelly, and the other, LL. D., in 1857, upon a fonuer 
professor in the institution, the Reverend W. H. Carter. 
It still withheld printed recognition from its own pupils 
until 1874, when four students, having completed success- 
fully the course of study allotted to them, received di- 
plomas as evidence of their scholarship, and since that time 



108 IIlSTUKlCAh SKETCHES 

the custom of «;ivin«r <lipl<»inas has obtained. Tt has ad- 
vanced its standard uf scholarship, as its funds would per- 
mit the emj)l(>yment of qualified teachers, and in 1884 the 
Ixiard of trustees decided that no p:rade of instruction he- 
low the academic woidd K' embraced in its curriculum of 
studv. As a result of this course, and thorouj2:h e«|ui])ment, 
when the pupils receive their diplomas in the classic or 
scientific dej)artments they are prepared to and do enter, 
without examination, anv Western college as a junior. 
With the expectation of increased facilities, the Univer- 
sity will siMni be able to throw off the last of the shackles 
which have impedrnl its progress, and take rank with its 
more fortunate sisters, who have not had to walk through 
the valley and the shadow of death. It will then l>eoome 
what Congress and the Territorial Legislature intende<l it 
should Ik- when its ]iafrimf»ny and charter were given, a 
university in the fullest meaning of the word. In closing 
this sketch of the Vincennes Univereity much cre«lit is (hu» 
— more than they ever will receive — to the connxHent, 
faithful, indefatigable nit-n who have ever formed the 
Iwiard of trustees. 

In their long line of nuireh, covering a period of ninety- 
six years, as one would fall along the way, by the stroke 
of time (►r circumstances, another volunteer would take his 
place. This with the knowle<lge that his rmly remuneration 
would l)e the consciousness of Imving perfonned his duty 
in aiding the advancement of education and civilization, 
the iM'iieticiaries W'ing the young of the passing and future 
generation.s. During all these years, amid all the vicissi- 
tudes through which the institution has passed, no trea.s- 
urer has defjudted to the amount of a single penny, and the 



I 



OLD VINCENNES. 109 

funds have been husbanded in the most businesslike man- 
ner. Time and talents have been lavished on the institution 
which would have brought to acting members of the board 
thousands of dollars if employed in business engagements. 
Some of the most distinguished men in national affairs 
have been on the roll of honor of the University's board 
of trustees. On that roll will be found the names of one- 
President of the United States, several members of (Con- 
gress, celebrated jurists, judges, clerg}'men, officials of the 
United States Government, authors, physicians, bankers, 
merchants, editors, mechanics and capitalists — men from 
all walks of life who have kept in close touch with the peo- 
ple in the progTess of science, art and literature. jSTeither 
would this sketch be complete without according a place of 
honoT to the long roll of distinguished men of learning 
who have graced and filled so well the office of president 
of the University, from its foundation to this year of grace 
1902. In this list there could be named many distinguished 
divines and professors of science and literature, who have, 
since leaving tl>e institution, filled and are now occupying 
professorships in many colleges. 

■ In the interests of the present generation and pros- 
perity, and as no attempt has as yet been made to preserve 
many facts unknown to the general public and which soon 
would be lost in the flight of the passing years, I have as- 
sumed the task, in connection with this sketch, to record 
statistics relating thereto. I believe them to be practically 
correct, although some omission may have accidentally oc- 
curred, owing to imperfect records in the misty past. 



no HISTOKICAL SKETCHES 

PRESIDENTS. 

Names of the presidents of Vincennes University and 
ilie time of their inaugriiration : 

1811. Reverend Samuel T. Scott. 

181;"). Professor Jesse Olds. 

1818. Profes.^or Jean Jean. ] 

1823. Reverend llenrv Shaw. | 

1840. Reverend B. B. Killikelly, I). 1). j 

184r». Reverend Geo. B. Jocelyn. | 

1850. Professor Matthews. A. M. 

1855. Reverend R. M. Chapman, D. D. 

1867. Reverend (). C. Drake, A. M. 

1868. Professor James M. Naylor, A. .M. 
1870. Reverend Geo. Parrott, A. M. 
1872. Professor Louis Prugh, A. M. 

1881. Professor E. A. llaight. 

1882. Professor Pitt L. McCreary. 

1883. Professor Enoch A. Bryan, A. 'SI. 
1893. Professor Edward P. Cubberly, A. M. 
1896. Professor A. II. Yoder, A. M. 
1900. Profess*..- W. {[. Hershman, A. M. 
U»Ol'. Professor James E. Manchester, D. S. D. 

OHicers of the \k>hv(\ of trustees of the Vincennes Uni- 
versity from its foundation, Deeemher 0, 180G, to Decem- 
ber, 1902, and when elected: 

1806. General William Henry Harrison, Presi- 
dent. 
1806. General George W. Johnson, Secretary. 
1806. James Johnson, Treasurer. 



OLD VmCENNES. Ill 

1811. Benjamin Parke, President. 
1813. Reverend Samuel Scott, Treasurer. 

1812. George Gibson, Secretary. 
1838. A. T. Ellis, President. 

1838. Reverend Thomas Alexander, President. 

1839. Samuel Hill, President. 
1820. Moses Tabbs, President. 

1838. Samuel Judah, Secretary. 

1839. William Burtch, Treasurer. 
1853. Isaac Mass, Treasurer. 

1850. Doctor John R. Mantle, President. 

1841. Doctor W. W. Hitt, President. 

1853. George D. Hay, Secretary. 

1855. Doctor Joseph Somes, Secretary. 

1864. Harrison T. Roseman, Secretary. 

1865. Doctor J. H. Rabb, Treasurer. 
1855. William Burtch, reelected Treasurer. 
1867. Doctor R. G. Moore, President. 
1878. Smiley JST. Chambers, Secretary. 
1889. W. B. Robinson, Secretary. 

1888. J. L. Bayard, Treasurer. 
1897. Hubbard M. Smith, President. 

Present Corps of Teachers : 

James Eugene Manchester, B. S., D. Secretary 
Tuebingen ; President and Professor of Math- 
ematics. 

Oscar M. Duncan, B. S., A. M., Professor of Nat- 
ural Science. 

Thomas J. Davis, A. B., Professor of English. 

Charles H. McLawry, A. B., A. M., Professor of 
Greek and Latin. 



ll-.> IIISTDRUAL SKKTL'llES 

!^fa^garpt ^[anchoster. Professor of Modem Laii- 

pna^s. 
N. K. Flint, Priii(ii)al Business Department. 
Cecelia Ray Berrv, l)in*<*tor of ^Insic. 
Tda ^rar«raret Berry, Principal Vocal Department. 

lioard of Tru.st^'os: Ilnl.hard M. Smith, M. D., Presi- 
dent; W. B. Kohinson, Att<»niey-at-La\v, Secretiiry ; J. L. 
Bayard, President First National Bank, Treasurer; Wal- 
ter M. ilindman, Dental Surgeon; Edward H. Smith, 
hardware; W. C Johnson, Att<irney-at-Law ; Juilge Ray 
(Jardner, Washington, Ind. ; James W. Emison, Attorney- 
at-Law ; Charles Bierhaus, wholesale grocer ; S. N. Cham- 
In-rs, Ex-United States Attorney, Indianapolis ; 11. A. 
F(»ulks, Esq.; T. II. Adams, Editor Comnifrrinl and Post- 
master; Royal E. Purcell, fxlitor Suit: Major W. P. 
Gould, Paymaster United States .\nny. 

ST. GABRIEL'S COLLEGE. 

St. (iahricl's ("ollegc was estahlished in In;}?, hy the 
Reverend John August Vabret, who brought with him to 
this town a colony from Rennes, France, called Eudists. 
II('|)urchase<l the University of Vineennes property in 1839 
and use«l the building as his .scIk^iI. lie was succeeded as 
president by the Reverend John P. Bellier, in 1840. The 
s<'hool was nuiintainecl until isl.'., wIk-u it was closed by 
an (»rder from the Superior-General of the Eudists. The 
building was then oc-cui>ied as an orphan asylum, and, 
afterward, by St. Rose Aca<lemy of Providence, under 
the management of Sister Cyrilla. until it was replace<l by 
the |iresent fine and rommo<lious biiilding, aceommodat- 



OLD VmCENNES. 113 

ing 275 pupils. St. Vincent Orplian Asylum being built 
two and a half miles south of the city, the orphans were 
transferred to it, and one hundred are domiciled there, 
under Sister M. Carmel, a Sister of Providence. St. Vin- 
cent Orphan Asylum Avas built first in 1847. It was 
used at first as a diocesan seminary for boys, but it is now 
used also as an asylum for boys, since the erection of the 
present fine building, which was built in 1864. It con- 
tains a chapel and is served by a pastor. 

St. Ann's Orphan Asylum for Girls was situated near 
the cathedral. In 1849 it was removed tO' Terre Haute. 

In addition to the schools noted, one is connected with 
St. Xavier's Church, with one lay teacher and two Sisters 
of Providence, and embraces 250 pupils ; and another 
parochial school connected with St. John the Baptist 
Church, under the supei'vision of Reverend Meinrad 
Fleischman, and four Sisters of Providence, by whom 
215 pupils are taught. 

COMMON SCHOOLS. 

The common school system may be said to have been in- 
aug-urated in Vincennes not before 1850, and then only in 
a feeble manner. The sentiment of the State before this 
period was against laws levying a tax for the support of 
free schools. Wlien the present Constitution of the State 
was adopted, the right to inaugurate the common school 
system was acquiesced in by the people generally and soon 
efficient free school laws were enacted, and then public 
schools were established all over the State. The Legisla- 
'ture, in 1824, made an attempt to blot out of existence 

[8] 



114 HISTOKICAL SKKTCIIES 

the Vinfouncs University, tlie tirst o<luc.itinii;il institution 
ostablisho*! in tliis State, tlirou'^h an«l l)v its Territorial 
Legislature, endowed l>v Congress with one or more town- 
ships of land, bv the estahlishnient of a free sciiool in this 
county under the title of the "Knox County Seminary." 
But as it. a]>propriated the proceeds of the sale of the Uni- 
vei-sity lands to establish IJloomington Colle<;e, the effort 
])rove<l an utter failure, and the ''Knox County Seminary" 
died of inanition, the Lepslaturc having failed to provide 
for the school's sup]x>rt. Hence for nearly a half centur\-, 
and not until the State £i;rudij:ingly had been com]ielied. 
after lonjj and expensive legislation, to make a jtartinl res- 
titution to the University, was there an effective revival of 
education in this town. 

Tn lsr>3 the public school system was fully inauiru rated 
here by and throuc^h the trustees elected by the people, 
cxunposed of (Jeorge I). Hay, dohn W. Canon and Lambert 
Burrois. For lack of funds the sc1kk)1s were inefficient, and 
even in 1855 only three months' tuition was vouchsafed 
to the pupils. In 1S5T the duration of the school year was 
extended to five months, with Anson W. Jones as ])rinci- 
l)al, at a salary of only $'>() per month. Tn 18(10 the first 
8ch<Md building was erectetl (now known as the ("entral 
Sch<K»l ) at the c(»rner of liuntin and Seventh streets, at a 
cost of $1!>,0(>0, und(T the supen'ision of Trustees John D. 
Lander, William Williamson and G. TL Deusterberg. Pro- 
fessor .\. W. doiKs was elected superintendent, succeetlinir 
himself in l^t;;;. and retaining: this position until his death 
in IST'I. riii- bnildinir has for its principal at the jiresent 
writinir. M. K. K'iik, with nine assistants. Another bnild- 
inir was ere<Med on the south side of this citv in IsTS. 



OLD VINCENNES. 115 

E. A. Quigie is now principal, with three assistants. The 
third bnihling- was erected on the north side in 1885, and is 
now conducted by Miss Josephine. Crotts, as principal, with 
five assistants. The bnilding on the east side was erected in 
1891, and is now condncted by Miss Melvina Keith, as 
principal, and fonr assistants. The present High School 
building was erected in 1897, at a cost of $30,000, on the 
corner of Buntin and Fifth streets, and is a beautiful mod- 
ern structure. All of the buildings are of brick, substan- 
tial, commodious, well equipped and furnished. 

To the Central School there is attached a kindergarten 
department which is conducted by Miss Caroline Pelham 
with Mrs. Flora Andrus Curtis as assistant. 

The building for colored pupils was erected about 
thirty years ago, on the comer of Thirteenth* and Hart 
streets, with B. L. Anthony as principal, and two assist- 
ants as present instructors. The enrollment of pupils in 
the public schools of this city in the last report was 1,900. 

The High School has a faculty of ten teachers, including 
Professor E. A. Humpkie, the present superintendent. 

The epithet applied to this region by Provisional Gov- 
ernor Arthur Sinclair, of the ISTorthwest Territory, in his 
first report to the United States Congress in 1780, to wit, 
"The Wabash Valley has the most ignorant people on 
earth, and not a fiftieth man can read or write", has 
long since ceased to have any foundation in truth. When 
this expression was uttered, only one year had elapsed 
after the Wabash Valley had passed from the hands of 
Great Britain into those of Uncle Sam, and but few white 
persons, except soldiers, occupied it. The schoolmaster 
has been abroad in the land and the Vincennes University 



IIG 



HISTORICAL SKETCHES 



«li<l imich in the early part of the last century to dispel 
the clouds of i«jniorance that had brooded over the Wahash 
Valley from time immemorial, and to make this place the 
radiating center whence the first streams of knowle<lge 
flowed over the great Northwest. 

The common schools of Indiana, the se(|uenee of ad- 
vanced (Mlucation, are now the pride, not only of the St;\te, 
but of the Nation, and illiteracy is the exception and not 
tlio rule. Could good old Governor Sinclair but awaken 
from his Rip Van Winkle slumbers and view our colleges 
and white school houses, which dot hill and valley like the 
cattle on a thousand hills, he would be astounde<l and con- 
strained to exclaim, ''Great is Iloosierdom; and her knowl- 
edge enlighteneth as the rays of the morning sun." Indiana 
claims to have the largest common school fund of any State 
in the Union, and possibly has, with the single exception of 
the State of Texas, which, upon its admission to the sister- 
IkkxI of States, retaine«l all her ]>uljlic domain for the use 
ami maintenance of her ]>ubli(' free schools. 



^-^^^ 



i£^ 




Chapter VI. 

CHURCHES— CATHOLIC. 

TO THE CATHOLICS belong the honor of doing 
the first Christian missionary work in Indiana, at 
the Piankeshaw village, the site of the city of Vin- 
cennes, and the erection of the first house of worship dedi- 
cated tO' God. 

It has been said that a Jesuit missionary Father visited 
the Indian village Che-pe-ko-ke, on the Wabash river, as 
early as 1702, but it has been shown in discussing the early 
settlement of this place that this statement is incorrect, 
and the mistake arose from an inaccuracy of some of the 
earlier explorers of the Mississippi Valley. For a long 
time the Ohio and Wabash rivers were confounded, they 
believing the former emptied into the latter, hence the 
name Ouabache was used for the Ohio. It is not probable 
that a mission was established here very much earlier than 
the advent of Morgan de Vincennes in 1731 or 1732. 
From that time on a priest was here occasionally until a 
church organization was effected and a house of worship 
erected, about the year 1749, the resident priest being 
the Reverend Louis Meurin. The first entry in the church 
records is dated April 21, 1749,* and embraces the follow- 
ing marriage certificate: "Julian Trotier, of Montreal, 
Canada, and Josie Marie, the daughter of a Frenchman 
and Indian woman." His last record was made in 1756. 



' Law's Hist. Vincennes, p. 145. W. H. Smith's Hist. Ind., p. 2-55. 
-117- 



OLD VINCENNES. 119 

''In a memorial on the affairs of Louisiana bj M. Le 
Bailey Messager, dated December 17, 1749, a proposition 
was made to establish a 'central power on the Wabash.' 
In the early part of the same year, 1749, a mission or 
eluirch was established at Post Vincennes by the missionary 
Sebast. Lud. Menrin."* On quitting the Post he left one 
Phillibert, a notary public, in charge, to keep the records 
and to administer baptism to laymen privately during the 
absence of a priest. The records of the Catholic church 
here make no mention of the missionaries until the year 
1749, when Father Meurin came here. For more than 
half a century this was the only church in Indiana, f 
From the departure of Reverend Louis L. Meurin there 
seems to have been no priest at Vincennes until the ar- 
rival of Reverend Pierre Gibault, who, upon his ordination 
in Canada, had been sent to the "Illinois Country," his 
objective point being Kaskaskia, as Vicar-General, by the 
Bishop of Quebec. In the line of his duty Reverend 
Gibault visited Vincennes first, in February, 1770. "'In 
March he returned to Kaskaskia, the usual place of his 
residence, but for several years continued to pay occa- 
sional visits to the Post. He was for a time the only priest 
in Indiana. We find from the records of the church that 
in July, 1778, he was in Vincennes, exerting himself suc- 
cessfully in inducing the French inhabitants to declare in 
favor of the United States against Great Britain.":|: His 
mission here at this time was, in some degi*ee, as ambas- 
sador of Colonel George Rogers Clark, who had won over 

'■'" In 1749 a church or misfion was established under the charge of Mission- 
ary Meurin at Piankeshaw village, which stood at the site of Vincennes."- Dil- 
lon Hist., p. 403. 

fW. H.Smith's Hi^t. Ind.,p. 255. 

I Law's Hist. Vincennes, p. 146. 



120 lIlSTUincAL SKKTCJIES 

the Fatlior to the Aiiicrican cause, after his capture of 
Kaskaskia. Ills services were invahiaMe, ami he shouM 
\h' held in _irrat<*ful reiiieuihrauce hy all American citizens. 

I'he English Government being in full possession of the 
Nortliwest Territorv at that time, with the exception of 
Kaskaskia and Cahokia, Father Gihault, in showing syni- 
patliv witli and giving active aid to Colonel Clark's armv, 
showed rare patriotism t4> the cause of liberty in thus 
exposing himself to the risk of capture aiwl trial for trea- 
son by the English. II is good services prepared the way 
fttr Clark's successful attack and capture of the town and 
fort at Vinc^'nnes, February 2."), ITT'.', "lii July, ITTt*. 
Father Gihault again visited Vincennes, then in the ]hk>*- 
session of the Americans. He reuuiiiu'd three weeks, dis- 
charging the duties of his otiice. Five years ela])setl, aft<'r 
this, without a visit from a priest, when Gibault reajv 
jK-ared in 1TS4, aecom]>anicd by the Keverend M. Payet. 
In May, ITS.'), he establishe<l himself at the Post as the 
resident pastor. He remaine«l here until Octolier, 1789, 
when he finally left and settled at Cah(>kia. ami afterwards 
at Xew .\radrid, Misscuiri, where he <lied in 1804. A lay- 
nmn, Pierre Mallet, acted as guardian of the elmrch, hav- 
ing been thus ai)])ointed by ^I. Gibault, until the arrival 
of M. Flaget, in 17l>2."* It is said by the same author 
that he remained at this Post two yeai*s. 

As to the location and character <»f the first church 
building, I will (juote fr<>m the history of the late Honor- 
able Jolin Law, a very intelligent gentlenuin. who came 
to Vincennes in the year 1M7, and who had access to the 
i-hurch library and was well «]ualifie«l to make a true state- 

• Lkw'n Hist. Vinrcnncs. |>. 117. 



OLD VINCENNES. 121 

Tneiit on the subject. The first building was doubtless 
-erected during the pastorate of Father Louis L. Meurin, 
about the year lYttO, as before stated, as the records of the 
church then begin to be kept. Law sajs: "It is not be- 
yond the memory of the oldest inliabitant of the Post — 
indeed, it is within the recollection of all wdio dwelt here 
forty years since — that fronting on Water street, running 
back to Church street, toward the present cathedral, there 
was a plain building with a rough exterior, built of up- 
right posts, 'chuncked and daubed', to use an architectural 
expression purely western, with a rough coat of cement on 
the outside ; in wklth about twenty feet ; in length about 
sixty feet ; one story high, with a small belfry, and an 
■equally small bell, now used at the more elegant and sym- 
metrical building * * * . The building I have described 
- — placed in the cemeteiy, where the various mortuary 
memorials, which piety and affection had dedicated to 
those who had gone before, headed with the symbol of their 
faith, and for the most part of wood, the inscriptions, from 
moss and time almost illegible — was the ancient church of 
St. Francis Xavier * * * and was without doubt the 
only church used here for Catholic worship until the foun- 
dations of the new edifice Avhich has superseded it was laid 
and the building prepared for worship."* 

The History of Bjiox County, p. 289, has this to say: 
"Father Gibault says, in 1784, a new church had been 
built, 90x-42 feet." This statement is not borne out by the 
facts, and it is presumed that the Father has been mis- 
represented. If such a building had been erected upon the 
Father's advent the last time he came, in May, 1785, where 

'■■■ Law's Hist. Vincennes, p. 141. 



122 HISTORICAL SKKTCHES 

was it ill 17'.':^, wIumi Fatliir \>. J. Flairct eaiiie to serve the 
ehurelif He said: "The huildin^ was poor, open and neg- 
lected ; the ahar, a teniporarv structure, was of hoards and 
badly jiut too;cther. I found the oonijrejjation in a worse 
state even than the church. Out of nearly TOO, hut 
twelve could he imluced to approach Imly c<>niiiiniii<iii ilnr- 
in«>; Christmas festivities.''* If a new church had Keen 
built in 1784, as allejj^ed, it is not probable that it could 
have l)econie so dilapidate<l as described by the reverend 
Father, in only a few years' time; and the size of the re- 
puted new buildiuii:, 90x42 feet, does not correspond with 
the one described by Law, liOxGO feet, and "one story 
high," when he came to Vincennes in 1817. AVhat Father 
Flaget said in l~U-2 about the building goes to show that 
it was the same as originally constr\icted, hut jxissibly im- 
proved sonu'what by St. Ange, who added a Ixdfry and a 
Ik'11, which was used in church service until the erection 
of the new catlicdi-aj. and, for sonic jmrjiosc. ujt to the 
present time."+ 

Then^ is a living witness to corroJMiratc dudgc haw's 
stateuM-nt. ^Irs. Klizabetli .\ndrc. now in her ninety-third 
year. She fold the writer. May 7, l!MtL'. that she, in com- 
])any with the late L. L. Watson and .Mr. Vital Bouchie, 
now living, t<iok their tirst communion in the first church 
built here, and describes it as built of posts or upright 
slabs, and further stated that this old church was ust^<l up 
to the time of the envtion «»f the present cathedral. She 
describes the entrance to the church as facing the river; 
said that sometimes there were long intervals between the 
visits of the ])riests ; that .'^he remembers when two came,. 

"^ Hilt. Knoi Coanty, p. 2%. 
t Law's Hist. Vinocnnef, p. 16. 



OLD VINCENNES. 12? 

having walked and carried their packs on their backs a long- 
distance ; and remembers Father Flaget as the first bishop- 
to come to Vincennes. She seems bright in intellect and 
memory as ever, and says that her recollection of incidents 
in her early years is as clear as it ever was — mnch l^etter 
than it is of incidents happening fifty years ago. The 
foregoing statements indicate definitely that the present 
cathedral has had bnt one preceding church. 

There was no regular supply of the church here until 
Congress, at the petition of Bishop Carroll indorsed by 
President Washing-ton, passed an act giving an annuity to- 
the church of $200. Then the Bishop appointed Keverend 
John Francis Rivet, who arrived here in May, 1795. His 
first official act recorded was the baptism of Antoinette- 
Rons, May 3, 1795, when he signed the record ''Rivet 
prete missionary." He continued here until 1804. Then 
there appears to have been no regularly stationed priest 
here for about a period of about two years. Those who 
officiated remained heie but a short time and were attached 
to missions in Illinois, or to the diocese of Kentucky. M. 
Flaget, having been consecrated Bishop of Bardstown, Ky., 
revisited Vincennes in 1814, and again in 1819, 1823 and 
1832 * * *. He was the first bishop who served a'c 
Vincennes. He died in Louisville in February, 1850. The 
See of Vincennes was erected in 1833 and Reverend Simon 
G. Brute was consecrated October 28, 1834, at St. Louis, 
and took up his residence at Vincennes.* As his field of 
labor was very extensive and his flocks scattered over a vast 
extent of territory, there being only two priests under his 
jurisdiction, and they two hundred and twenty-five miles 

" Hist. Knox County, p. 291. 



IJj HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

apart, lie atldro.-scd his lirst j)astural letter from St. Louis 
after liis elevation, that l)piii<r the only way he could reach 
his nieudters. Hi* died in ls.'5'.i, Icavinir a distinguishe<l 
leeord i:s a Christian i^entlenian and a p (pular bishop, and 
was iiuried in the crypt of the church. liishop Brute was 
8ucoeede<l hy Bishop Celestin Reno Laureant Gyner do le 
Hailandien', in ls;3U, who resigned in 1847. He was 
succeeded hy John Stephen Bazin in 1847, who died April 
2.'J, 1N4S, after a hrief episcopate of six months, liishop 
Isaac Maurice de Loii'j: d'Assac de St. Palais was ap- 
pointed to tliis diocese in 184!». It then coniprise^l the 
wh«de State, includinji^ aln^ut fifty churches and a Catholic 
population of ahout 30,000. Bishop St. Palais was an 
efticient and p<ij)ular hishoj). hnriui!; his episcopate the 
diocese was divided, and one at Fort Wayne ereote<l, em- 
hracing ahout one-half of the State, lie died in 1877. 
Francis Silas Chatard, the fifth bishop, succeeded to this 
diocese and was consecrat^'d lii>lii>p in Uonie, May, 1878, 
by Cardinal Franchi. Fp to this time the bisliop's resi- 
dence had been at \'incennes an<l his ])arishoners here were 
mncl. (••iiiccrned t(» know whctjier the new bislmp wmiM 
continue it or nut. As this had been the battleground for 
the succ^'ss an<l advancement of the church for more than 
a century and a half, they felt a just pride in claiming 
priority of domicile for their bishop and had good reasons 
for supposing that this city would bectnne his home. But 
such was not to be, and sacred ties, consecrated by sweet 
memories of the past, were to be rent asunder for public 
policy through the ine.xorai)le changes of time and prog- 
ress, lie was installeil in otfice by Arcld)ishop Pnrcell, of 
<'incinnati, in August, 1S78. The brief changing the 




SECOND ST. FRANCIS XAVIER CHURCH. ERECTED IN 1826; FINISHED 1834- 



IJG HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

style f»f tlie diocese from Vincennes to Indianapolis was 
dated March 28, ls78, but was not promulgated until 
A]Mil 20, ls!>S. The news of the change was received 
with grief hy his ])arish(>ners here, but was loyally ac- 
ceptcnl by them. 

St. Xavier ( 'athedral has for its rector the Reverend 
T»uis (iueguen, R. D., a most estimable gentleman and 
Christian, iind the Reverend Frederick Berget, an elo<]uent 
young j)reacher, as his a.ssistant. 

St. John's German Catholic Church, a branch of St. 
Xavier, was constitutetl in 1851, and had for its pastor 
Reverend Nicholas Stauljer, who erected a brick house for 
worship in the same year on a beautiful square between 
Eighth and Ninth streets, on ^lain, the same in re- 
cent years being remodeled and enlarged under the super- 
visidu of the second pastor, Reveren<l A. Mertz, who faith- 
fully a<lniinistered \into jiis pju'ishoners for more than 
forty years and nji to his <leatli. Reverend ^leinrad 
Fhuschman, the present pastor, succeeded him. 

The ])rosp<'rity and status of the Catholic Church may 
\h' judged by the following statistics gleaned from the 
reports of its official ree(>rds for the year 1900, of the 
Church in the State: Bishops, 2; priests, 353; churches, 
302; Catliolie population, 184,388. 

PRESBYTERIAN. 

The first missionary work done in this State by the 
Presbyterian Church (K-eurnMJ in tiie years 1804, 1805 and 
180G, by the Reverends Samuel Rjinnels, Samuel D. Rob- 
inson, James .M«-(;rady and Th«»mas ClellaiKl. members of 
the TraiisvlvaJiia I'resl.vterv i.f Kentuckv. In 1 "^05 the 




PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ORGANIZED 1896, 



1^8 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

Reverend Clelland visiter] Viueennes and Governor Will- 
iauj Honrs- Harrison's wife, who was a Presbyterian, in- 
vited him to preacli in the council chamber of the Gov- 
ernor, which he did; and this is the first recorded sermon 
preached in Indiana Territory by a Presl)yterian minister. 
The first church was organized (under the title of The 
Indiana Church) in 1806, by the Reverend Samuel D. 
Robinson, of the Transylvaaiia Presbytery, Synod of Ken- 
tucky, ^lissionarios, be^iides the ones noted, occasionally 
\ isitcd Iu<liana Territory, including Reverend Thomas 
Williamson, of the Presbytery of South Carolina, but there 
was no regular pastor stationed here until 1807, when the 
General Assend)ly of the church "ordered that the Rever- 
end Samuel T. Scott, of the Presbytery of West I^xingt«m. 
Ky., be a missionary ftir three months in the Indiana 
Territory, and especially at Vincennes." The Reverend 
Scott had been serving as pastor of Mt. Pleasant and In- 
dian Creek churches. He arrived under this resolution 
of the Assembly in 1807, and became pastor of Indiana 
Church,* which was the first Presbyterian Church organ- 
ized in Indiana Tcrritfu-y. The Revi'rcutl Scott pmved to 
be an etlicieiit ami lalM)ri(>us pastor, meetings being held in 
the W(to<ls oftentimes. He soon gathered three congrega- 
tions, known as Upper and Lower Indiiuia and Viueennes 
jxirtions of the Indiana Church, lie was prime factor in 
e<lucatiiiiial advanc4>ment in this region and was the first 
teaclier emj>l<>ye<l by the Viueennes I'niversity trustees. 
The impress left on the people by him was elevating and 
enlightening to the cause of civilization and the Christian 
religion. He ministered to these congregations many years 

■■ Inrtinna Church oint>rRcc(l the phurchos of Vinrennes, I'pper and Lower 
Indiana. 



OLD VINCENNP:S. 139 

before he was ordained, that event occurring- .Vngust 6, 
1825, at a meeting of the Salem Presbytery (this body 
having been organized and detached from the Synod of 
Kentucky in 1823), in the courthouse in Vincennes. This 
body consisted of the Reverends William Robinson, John 
Todd, Samuel T. Scott, William W. Martin, John M. 
Dickey, John T. Crowe and Isaac Reed. Reverend 
Samuel Scott died in 1827, and the Reverend Samuel R. 
Alexander succeeded to the pastorate of the church in 1828, 
being installed in the old court house standing at the corner 
of Third and Buntin streets. Up to 1833 the Vincennes 
Church was identified with and was a part of Indiana 
Church, organized in 1806 ; but after that time it assumed 
an individual existence. The other churches issuing from 
Indiana Church, the parent church, were Wheatland, 
Bruceville, West Salem, Smyrna, Upper and Lower Indi- 
ana Churches. 

The first building of the Vincennes branch as organ- 
ized* stood on the corner of Fifth and Busseron streets, on 
which the present Presbyterian Church now stands and was 
dedicated April 16, 1831, with Reverend Samuel R. Alex- 
ander as supply to it and the other churches up to January 
6, 1833, Avhen the Reverend W. W. Martin became pastor, 
with a membership of thirty-three persons. He preached 
until April, 1835, when he was succeeded by Reverend 
John McISTeil, who was succeeded by the Reverend Thonuis 
Alexander, who remained until January 23, 18-1:7. Rever- 
end John F. Smith was then pastor until ^fay, 1858. 
Reverend J. W. Blythe succeeded liim, who gave way to 
Reverend J. F. Jennison, and he in turn to Eli B. Smith 

■'■' The lot was conveyed to the trustees of the church by John Brunei", for the 
sum of S80. 
[91 



]M) HISTORKAL SKETCHES 

ill 1">«'»1, wlio rcmainod uiitil ISGG, when Reverend .1. F. 
IIen<ly was called tn the pastorate. The church dividinc: 
on the ( 'i\ il War <|nestion, the Second Presbyterian ( Mmrch 
was oriranize«l April 20, lsG2, with thirty-seven niend)ers 
who wurship])e<l in the female academy on the comer of 
Fifth and Bnsseron streets until they built a brick church 
on Main, near Sixth street, and calltMl as ])astnr the livv- 
erend K. S. Wilson. He was succe<'d(-d by lieverend 
.losejih \'ance, and he by II. B. Thayer. In 1872 the 
asjierities of the ( ivil War having become obliterated or 
softened between the First and Second Churches, the two 
Ixtdies Ix^canie reunited, the Reverend Ilendy withdrawing 
and the Reverend Vance succeeding to the joint pastorate. 
Reverend 1'.. 1'. Whallen succeede<l him in August, 1878, 
c(»ntinuing luitil ISSS, when the Reverend Thomas S. 
Scott was installed and remained until 18*J4, when he was 
succee<led by the Reverend George Knox. 

IndiT the administration of the Reverend Whallen the 
t)ld house of worship, built in ISIM, was razed and a j)or- 
tion of the new structure was erected at a cost of $15,000, 
and completed in ISIMJ, under the successful a<lministra- 
tion of tlie Reverend George Knox, making the total cost 
of the present building about $2.'>,000, rendering it a model 
of lK*auty, e<pii])ment and convenience, with a seating ca- 
pacity of ti(Ki. It was dedicaicd in May, lS!)i>, and the 
f<dl(»wing hymn was written for and useil in the de<li- 
catt>rv services bv the author: 



OLD VmCENNES. 131 

DEDICATION HYMN. 

Oil, Lord, on this auspicious day, 

Thy people in their temple meet 
To dedicate it and to lay 

The offering at the Savior's feet. 

In faith we to the altar bring 

Our soul's devotion, and each voice 

Would, with the sweetest accents, sing 
Thy praises as we here rejoice. 

Bestow a blessing on us now. 

As we adoring look above, 
And sanctify each prayer and vow. 

And fill our souls with joy and love. 

May seed, within this vineyard sown. 

Be nurtured by Thy grace divine. 
And yield full harv^ests for Thy tlirone, 

And all the glory shall be Thine. 

Reverend Dr. Hunter succeeded to the pastorate in 1901 
and the church has a bright future. 

At the present time the Church of the State is divided 
into eight Presbyteries, with a total of 259 ministers and 
320 churches, and a total membership of 42,783. During 
the year 1900 the members gave for congregational ex- 
penses the sum of $390,360; to home missions, $61,581; 
other benevolences, $143,244 ; making a total of $595,185. 
Resident membership, 360. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL. 

Vincennes circuit appears upon the minutes of the 
District of Vincennes in 1810, making three fields of 
labor, and Mr. William Winans, who had been admitted on 
trial in the western conference the year before, was sent 
here, and his advent marked the beginning of the propa- 



1 :v? 



llISToinCAL SKKTL'llKiS 



pitiuii of Mctliodisui ill Vineoimcs. The fidlowiiiir inci- 
tlciit is rccnrdcd as liavin<r (tccurrcd at one of his meetings: 
He had an ajtitoiiiniicnt to j^reaeli in town one niirht and 




METHODIST EI'ISCOI'AL CHIRCH. ORGANIZED IN 1809. 



liad t'nr his aiidicncr (lovcnmr Williain llciiiv Ihnri-on 
and one other person. 'Inhere was hut one canfMe to iiive 
lijrht and nothinjr to place it upon. To relieve the ditti- 



OLD YINCENNES. 133 

ciilty the Governor held the candle while the yonng 
preacher read his hvmn and text*. He was sent from here 
to Mississippi District, Lonisiana, the following year. He 
became, in time, distingiiished and a doctor of divinity. 
Tradition gives a little episode in the life of the Reverend 
Winans while here. It is stated that while the pow-wow 
was in progress between Governor Harrison and Tecum- 
seh, when the same had reached an acute stage, the Rev- 
erend Winans stood in the front door of the Harrison man- 
sion, with a gnn in hand, ready to go to the General's aid, 
if attacked by the Indians. This shows that, while he M^as 
a soldier of the cross, he was no less a soldier in the cause 
of American liberty. 

It is presumed that the church was organized in 1809, 
the year preceding the advent of Reverend Winans, he 
being the first supply pastor, as the next year, 1810, Vin- 
cennes appears on the conference minutes as St. Vin- 
cennes. 

The first general conference of the church convened in 
ITew Albany in 1833. The State has been divided into 
eight conferences, Bloomington, C'onnersville, Evans- 
ville, Indianapolis, Moores Hill, I^ew Alliany and Vin- 
cennes. It has under its charge 321 ministers; 220 are 
on the office list. The seventy-first session of the General 
Conference was held in Vincennes September 10, 1902, 
continuing one week, and having an attendance of 500 
delegates. 

Goodspeed, in his History of Knox C'ounty, says the 
Methodist Church was organized in 1803, by the Rcn^erend 
William Winans, which is an error, as the Reverend Wi- 

* Indiana Miscellany, by Rev. W. C. Smith, p. 52. 



i;!l IIISToKK .\l> SKKTi IIKS 

luiiis, jis s<M'ii alxivc, (lid not coiiio To Vineennos circuit 
until the latter j)art of 1S1(>, where he remained a year nn<i 
was sent to Mississip])i. lie was, while here, a licentiate, 
only, and there is no reeordeil evidence of the time when 
an orpniization of the church took ])laee. The presumption 
is that the church was tii*st or<2:anized in 1S09, hut did not 
hecome a station until lsi>l». In 1828 lot 132, on the 
corner of Buntin and Third streets, was ]>urchase<l, the 
deed U'in^ made to David S. Bonner, Richard Posey and 
Thomas Collins, and a house <)f worship was sul>se(]\iently 
huilt thcrcoii. A more suhstantial huildin^ rejdaced the 
tirst one on the same lot aliout lsr>4. In 1S!»4 the lot (»n the 
corner of Fourth and I'errv streets was purchased with a 
view (►f erectini; a stone cliurch on it, the conicr stone of 
which was laid Aj)ril IT, !>«!•'.•. The present huildinir was 
comjdeted and (K'cu])ied later in the same year, and is a 
U'autiful structure. The cost of the buildinjj and lot was 
$25,011(1. 

Iliere has been ahout seventy pastors and junior pn'acli- 
crs connected with this church since it was estahlished. 
Those who have been promoted to the office of presiding 
clilcr were: James Axley, Peter ( 'artwriijlit, George Ltx'k, 
Aaron Wood, Daniel Mclntire, llayden ITayes and John 
Kyser. all of wlmm are now deceaseil ; and P. F. Rawlins, 
William U. /ariim, William McKee Hester, M. M. Hobbs, 
W. 1>. (tillins, M, 8. Ileavenridge and the present ])opular 
olficial, 11. ('. Clippingj'r. The Reverend T. II. Willis is 
the present ehnpu'iit and cHicient ]iastor. Tf)tal meiid)ership 
is ]>laced at 4(Js. The s])read of tiie church in the State 
has be4-ii phenomenal. 



OLD VINCENNES. 135 



EPISCOPAL. 



The Protestant Episcopal Church had a mission her© 
as early as 1823, served by the Reverend Henry M. Shaw. 
For a time services were held in the unfinished University 
building, which was fitted up for that pui-pose, under the 
direction of Rector Shaw. Subsequently, after that build- 
ing passed into the hands of the Catholic Church, by per- 
mission, through arrangements with the town authorities, 
a room in the city hall was fitted up for church purposes 
and used until St. James Church was erected and conse- 
crated. 

On the 7th day of October, 1839, the communicants and 
friends interested in the church met at the residence of Mr. 
George Davis to consider the matter of organizing a parish. 
The Reverend B. B. Killikell}", a missionary priest, was 
present and presided. Those present organized a parish, 
and named it St. James Church of Vincennes. George 
Davis and James W. Greenhow were chosen wardens and a 
vestry was elected. After the organization was completed 
the Reverend B. B. Killikelly w^as chosen the first rector,, 
and accepted the charge, entering upon his duties at once 
In 1840 the otficers purchased the lot on which their pres- 
ent edifice now stands, on the southeast corner of Fourth, 
and Busseron streets, for $-100. In 1811 a movement was- 
made to secure funds for the erection of a building, and. 
with that object in view their rector, the Reverend Killi- 
kelly, made a tour east, going as far as England, where he; 
received substantial donations for the church erection fundi 
— one of ten pounds, b}^ Queen Adelaide, widow of Will- 
iam IV; and among other distinguished subscribers was 



13t; IIIS'I'OIMCAL SKKTCIIES 

Mr. (JliKlstitiic. On the rctiini ( f the Jii'Vi-ivml Killikclly 
the preotion <tf a c-huivli huiMiiijr was comiiu'iiootl and 
coinpli'tfd in the sunuiiiT of 1S4.'>, and dedicated <»n Aujrnst 
I'nd in tliat same year hy Bishop Kenijx'r, missionary 
hishop of the Xrirthwest. The Reverend Ivillikcdly re- 
si»^n('d ahoiit this time, and was sueeeeih'd I)y the Kevenied 
Foster Thayer, who in tnm was sueeeede<l by the Reverend 
Killikclly airain, who remaineil rector some years more. 

The next rector, the Reverend A. \ arrian, j'ntered npon 
his pastorale in is.'tO. and was 8ueceede<l l>y the following 
rectors, in the order named: The Reverends F. Klweil, 1). 
F. Foveridge, John F. Fsch, W. 11. Carter, A. F. Free- 
man, J. F. Gay, Thomas Austin, D. I)., William .Morrall, 
Peter MeFarland, A. A. Ahhott (now Bishop of Cleve- 
land), (". S. Sargent, G. Graham Adams, Edwin Johnson, 
GcN.rge Taylor Grittin and l)e Lou Burke, the latter hcing 
the present rector. The chnrcli, as originally huili. did not 
in(du<le the tower, which was constructed in l<s<)."3. Tlie 
church roll, while never verv large (there l)eing now less 
than sixty active mend)ers), in influence and standing 
maintains a high position in the coiiiuninity. ami seems 
fairly ])rosperoMs. Several young men have been prepared 
for the ministry within its sacrwl portals, and have gone 
out into the world to preach the gos|>el of Christ with suc- 
cess. 

BAPTIST. 

'1 here may have heeii. and j>rMltjil>ly was. religions serv- 
ices held h( re hy the Raptist dennmiiiat jun at a very early 
<late, as that denonunation had a missionary in the county, 
the Rev»'rend James MeC^uaid. who organized a church in 



OLD VINCENNES. 137 

Widner township as early as 1809. Xo record exists that 
preaching occnrred prior to 1861, when the Reverend J. S. 
Gillespie came here. He held a series of meetings in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. He returned again in 1862, 
leaving a prosperous church at Greencastle to organize one 
here, which was accomplished May 1, 1862, in the resi- 
dence of Mrs. Woodman, composed of the following mem- 
bers : Mrs. W. J. Heberd, Mrs. David Buck, ^Irs. William 
Floro, Mrs. Eliza Wise, Miss Lou Duree, Mrs. L. Gillespie, 
Miss Gillespie, Christian Raller and the Reverend J. S. 
Gillespie. They purchased a lot on the corner of Broad- 
way and Sixth streets, and erected a house of worship about 
1866 at a cost of $6,000, adding a bell and furnishings 
complete in 1868. The Reverend Gillespie resigned in 
1867, and was succeeded by the Reverend L. B. Robinson, 
who was in turn succeeded by the following pastors in the 
order named : The Reverends B. F. Cavens fin 1871), Dr. 
Stinson (of Terre Haute), J. Brandenburg (in 1875), 
J. H. Butler (1883), the Reverend Patterson, B. F. 
Keith, William Thomas, Thomas Wolford and W. G. Law, 
the present pastor, who entered upon his duties on January 
1, 1901. The present enrollment of members is 234, and 
the pastor reports the church well organized and as enjoy- 
ing a good degree of prosperity. 

CHRISTIAN. 

So far as records show, the ( 'hrisrian Church (so desig- 
nated to distinguish it from other Protestant branches of 
the Christian Church Universal) was organized in Vin- 
cennes not before the third Sunday in June, 1833. By 



13H !IIS'1'M|;|( Al. SKKTCHES 

wli«tiM it was orpiiiizc'd is imt ])nsiti\»'lv kimwii, \)\\\ 
among tlio initial nicniluTs were Ilonrv 1). Wlicclcr ami 
wife, Samuel Pietv an<l wife and Mrs. Harriet Judah. 
In the early years of the ehiireh the orfranizalinn ]X).<,sesse(l 
no h<»ns<' <»f Worship and had no j)astor, h<»ldini:" their serv- 
iees in private residences, the city hall and the eonri housf. 
Aecessions followed in due time, with snhstantial Gcxl- 
fcaring eitizens, such as Doctor J. R. ^lantell, Al])honso 
I)raj)er and others, when a hnilding lot was seenn^l on 
Second strc<'t, hetwcK'ii Bunt in and Perry streets, and In 
184rt a hriek struetnre was eoninienee<l, hut not completed 
and dedicate<l until ()ctol>er, ls4}^. F'or many years the 
church was without a regular pastor, the j>ulpit ]>eing sup- 
plied occasionally l)y evangelists having other churches 
in their charge for their support. The Reverend Alexander 
( 'aiii]il>ell, the foimder of this hranch of the Protestant 
( 'hureh ill the I'liited States, once paid a visit to the Vin- 
cennes church, and ministered to the tioek with great ac- 
ceptability. In l^r.."* this church called its first pastor, the 
Reverend .1. .1. llojton, who was f(dlowe<l, in 1S(;!», hy 
Elder W. II. rijler, wiio was in turn succeedecl l»y the 
Ri'verend d. F. Clark. The latter miiiistereil to his people 
for twenty-one years — a deserving c<tnij>liiiieiit to a devoted 
ami loving minister of ("hrisr. lie was fdlowed hy the 
Reveren<l J. X. Jes.sup, an«l he hy (I. M. Wtinier. Then 
came the present (efficient an<l acceptalde paster, the Kever- 
end William ()e.«cliger, March 1, I'.tni. 

The chnrcli has prospered, hnving now enrolled .■"»(►() 
memlx'rs, and will s;)on erect a tine massive structure on the 
coni<r<'f r.r..;i.lu ;iv and Third streets. 



OLD VINCENNES. 139 



GERMAN PROTESTANT. 



The St. John's Evangelical and the St. John's Lutheran 
Churches worshipped as one body in 1855, in a church on 
the corner of Eighth and Scott streets, and tliis union con- 
tinued until 1S51), when a division occurred, the Lutheran 
branch purchasing the interest of the Evangelicals for the 
sum of $400, and becoming the owners of the church edi- 
fice. 

LUTHERAN. 

The St. John's Lutheran Church was served then by the 
Reverend Peter Senel, who was installed October 16, 1859. 
He was succeeded by the following pastors, in the order 
named: The Reverends J. D. F. Mayer, J. W. Mueller; 
F. R. Forman, September 26, 1869 ; C. R. W. Huge, Sep- 
tember 26, 1880; G. Goesswein, January 11, 1885; Carl 
Kretzeman, September 12, 1897, the present efficient and 
eloquent pastor who has for his assistant the Reverend 
Martin Kretzeman, who was installed as such assistant Au- 
gust 4, 1901. 

The old church gave way to the present substantial and 
commodious building in 1876. 

A parochial day school and Sunday school are conducted 
by the pastors. A parsonage is also erected on the half 
square occupied by the church and school buildings. Total 
voting membership of this church is eighty-two ; total mem- 
bership, 370 ; total scholarships, ninety. The church has 
prospered gTeatly and is harmonious. 



140 lllsroK'K AL SKKTCHES 

ST. JOHN'S GERMAN EVANGELICAL. 

Tliis orjranizatirtn separated from the Lutheran hranch 
in Anptist, 18 ')•.>, and had for its pastor the Reverend C. 
IIoflFniei.ster. They huilt a frame church on tlie comer of 
Fifth aii<l Hart .-streets. In ls86 a connu<Klious hriek struc- 
tur<' \va.s cnvtj'd on the corner of Fifth and Shelhy street.s. 
This conp'ejration has also more recently ercxited a par- 
sonage and parochial school building. They have had as 
pastors the following, in the order named: Tiic Rev- 
erends F. Durlitz, William Jung, X. Burklianli, Peter 
Wehher, Albert Schorev, O. J. Kuss, Frederick Reller, 
Henry Mehl, and again AlUrt Schoroy. I lie Reverend 
Louis llohmann is now pastor. 

'J'he j)resent membership of the church is eighty-eight. 
This church has prospered under its several pastoi*s, and is 
doing a iiodd woi'k in riie interests of Christianity. 

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL. 

This clnirch was .irganizeil by tiie Reverend W. 1*. 
(^uinii, at what ]X'rio(l ik) record exists to show. Samuel 
(lark, Cornelius Sims, W. H. Stewart, James Brunswick, 
an<l Henry Ry<l(>r were the initiatory mendH-rs. The tirst 
building erected was in the year IS.'}!), on the corner of 
Tenth and Hunt in streets. This one was replace 1 by a biick 
structure, ^».'».n.")(». in lsT.">. The name of the i)resent pastor 
is the Reverend (1. 11. \Miite. 

CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN. 

i his branch of the Presbyt<'rian Church must have held 
senice in this county si.xty years or more ago. as they or- 
ganized a chun-li in Palmyra townshij) ab()Ut tliat time, 



OLD VmCENNES. 



141 



vet 110 record is given by tlie pastor of the church in Vin- 
ceiiiies that preaching ever occurrred here before the advent 
of the Reverend Henry Clay Yates in 1890, when a church 
was organized with a membership of twenty-one. The 
church buihiing was erected during the year 1890, and was 
dedicated in the spring of 1891. The Reverend Yates was 
its first pastor, continuing six years, when he was suc- 
ceeded by the Reverend F. A. Grant, who remained but 
six months, Ijeing succeeded by the Reverend J. X. McDon- 
ahl. The hitter was pastor for four years, being succeeded 
by the Reverend J. B. Miller, present pastor, in 1901. 

Total membership of Vincennes Church is 175. Total 
membership in the State, 3,788. Total value of property, 
$183,300. Amount contributed for church purposes in 
1900 was $17,370. The church seems fairly prosperous 
under its energetic pastor. 



Chapter VII. 



BIOGRAPHIES— FRANCOIS MORGAN, SIEIR DE VIN- 
CENNES. 

Ml ('11 lias Ufn written alM»nt the loiindei- of \'in- 
cennes, repirdiiij; his nationality, geneah^y ami 
a<r(', and the (luestion may not yet be considered 
settled; hut the j)resunij)tion is that all is now known that 
will ever be. From the best sources of information ol)tain- 
able it may be stated that he was born in Canada (although 
some say that he was a native of France), but at what time 
is not positively known. It is recorded that he received an 
ensign's eonnnission in K599. lie is believed to be the son 
of ^<•ui^^a l')issot (the sister of Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur 
«le Vineennes), who.se husband was Seraphim Morgane. 
According to Duboison's narrative, ])agt^ 0, the sid)ject of 
this sketeli fought gallantly in defending the fort at De- 
t;"oit from a combineij Indian attack. May. 171:.'. lie was 
subse(|uently .si-nt West, anil was at .Mackinaw, an<l, accord- 
ing to Law's History, he was engaged in some service on 
th(^ lakes toward St. .Marie in 1725. "At what time he 
took ix>s.session here is not exactly known; ))robabIy some- 
where aW»ut the year IT'J'i." 

On the death (»f his uncle, .lean Baptiste Bi.s.sot, Sieiir 
<le N'incennes, he assumed his title (►f Sieur de N'incennes. 
He worked his way west to the Posts Miamis and Ouiate- 
non, after which he is known to have Ih^cii at Kaskaskia, 

-142- 



OLD VINCENNES. 143 

'October 20, 1727, where he and Louis St. Ange, his fel- 
low-officer, attended the nuptials of two of the inhal^itants.* 

The next recorded history of his whereabouts is that of 
Tiis being at the Ghe-pe-ko-ke village in 1733. Law, p. 19, 
•says: "There are other documents there (Kaskaskia) 
;signed by him (Vincennes) as witness in 1733-1734, 
among them (records) a receipt for one hundred pistoles, 
received from his father-in-law on his marriage. From 
all these proofs it is clearly evident that he was here pre- 
vious to 1733." That he was at the village previous to that 
time is positive; for his letters recently published (1902) 
lyy the Indiana Historical Society, dated March 7 and 21, 
1733, Vincennes, show this. In his letter of March 21, 
1733, he says, in answ^er to the inquiiy as to his progress 
at the post, "I have built a fort and erected two houses, but 
need a guard-room and a barracks for lodging soldiers, and 
thirty more soldiers and an officer, as it is not possible to- 
remain in this place with so few troops." It would seem 
from this statement of Vincennes that what some writers 
liave said about the Indians here receiving the priests and 
French soldiers with open arms is entirely too rosy and 
absurd for credence. The savage Indian can no more 
change his nature toward the white man than a leopard 
can change his spots. He stated further that he was "em- 
I)arrassed by the w^ar with the Chickasaws, who have been 
here twice this spring." 

He continued here as commandant until 1736, when 
his superior officer, Major de Aitagette, ordered him to 
join his forces in a campaign war against the Chickasaw 
jSTation in Louisiana. This wing of the anny was to be 



"Mason, " Kaskasku, and Its Parish Records," in American History, Vol. 
VI, p. 175. 



141 IIISTOlili AL SKKTCHES 

joincil \\itli (iiic from Xcw Orleans bv agroeinoiit, i)uty 
owing to some hhiiidcr or uuavoiilable causo, a juiu'tiou 
was not formed of tlie two IxKlies, and Major Artagetto's 
force alone attacked the C'hickasaws, and, after a Moody, 
prolonged Itattle, the French forces were defeated, and 
Artairette, Vincennes, the Jesuit Father, and manv soldiers 
were captnrcd and hnrned at the stake. 

In relation to his death Charlevoix said : "We have just 
received verv had news from Tx>uisiana and our war with 
the Chickasaws. The French have IxH'n defeated. Among 
the slain is ^^onsienr de Vincennes, who cease<l not until 
his latest hreath to exhort the men to Indiavi^ worthy of 
their religion and their country." 

Thus ignobly perished the hero-]):itriot and f(Min<k'r of 
our city. He well desen'es a l>eautifnl monument from his 
counlrvmen, whose shaft should perpetuate his noldc and 
valiant deeds of patriotism. 

Vincennes! Tliy name will livi- in story, 
Wliilst otlifFs, ^^Tit on brass and stone, 

Will lost', in i>assiug time, a glory 

That round them once in brightness shown. 

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. 

The subject of this sketch, bring the ])rime factoi- in 
the capture of Vincennes in the cause of American lib- 
erty, (»ccu])ies an im]>ortant position in the annals of the <dd 
town, which would be incomplete without the mention of 
his noble life, character and eminent sen'iccs — a life ftdl 
of startling incidents and stirring events, which impres.siHl 
them.selves indelibly upon the early history of the great 
West, although only a brief notic*' of them can be recorded 
here. 



OLD yiNCENNES. 



145 



George Rogers Clark, wlio has been called the "Han- 
nibal of the West," was born in Albemarle Connty, Vir- 
ginia, on the 9th day of N^ovember, 1752, within one and 
one-half miles of Monticello, the celebrated resting place 
of President Thomas Jelferson. He was of Scotch-English 
descent, his mother being a lineal descendant of the cele- 
brated John Rogers, 
who was burned at the ^^ 
stake for his inllexi- 
ble religious opinions. 
Some members of the 
family, like himself, 
have been notable 
characters; one of his 
brothers, William, 
having been asso- 
ciated with Mr. Lewis 
in the celebrated ex- 
pedition of Lewis and 
Clark to the Pacific 
Ocean. George did not 
receive a classical edii 
cation, his tastes be 
ing inclined to mathe- 
matics and surveying, 

although he was under the tutelage of a noted educator,. 
Daniel Robertson, and had for a time as a classmate Jame-S' 
]\Lidison, who afterward became President. When but 
nineteen years of age Clark started West with a surveying 
party, and was at Steubenville, O., in 1770, and also in 
Kentucky. He soon returned to Virginia, but was back 




GENERAL GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. 



[10] 



14r) HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

ami forth for the next few years; and, when there was an 
Indian onthreak, lie j«»ined a ennipanv in Ohio to opixise 
tin- hi^stiles. In 177."> he was en«j^aj|^ed in survevint!; in Ken- 
tneky, and located some latnls near Frankfort. Bnt lie 
was also ahont Ilarrodshurg and other places, faniiliarizin«5 
himself with tlie eonntrv and the settlers. In 1770 he went 
I" \'iri!inia and scitlc<l n]» his Imsine^s with a view of 
makinir Kcntiiekv his home, and induced his ])arents to 
emijzrate thither. Ahont this time he (leveloped into a poli- 
tician, as well as a militarv expert, and, tindinir the jx'ople 
of the settlements unor«i;anize<l, he imjn-esse*! upon them 
the nee<l of nnion of action, and the importance (»f sending 
• lelej^ates to the Legislature of Virginia. At his instiince 
two delegates, himstdf and Gabriel Jones, were .sent, who 
were to im]>ress uj»on the ]^arent State the (hitv of caring 
for an<l helping the far-away colony. When they jiri'j^ented 
themselves at Williamsburg, the capital, the Legislature 
had adjourned, and the State officers could not la^^'fully 
make any advances to Imy materials of warfare for the pro- 
tection of the settlements. .lones returned, l^it Clark re- 
maineil. and pl(';nh'<l so .successfully with tlic (lovernor, 
I'atrick Henry, that the latt<^r issue<l an order for five hnn- 
<lred })ounds of pow<ler, to Ik* delivered at Pitt.shurgh sub- 
ject to Clark's order. He wrote to the settlers at IlarnHls- 
l>urg to .send for it, bnt the letter was lost, and later in 
the year he found the |>owder still at Pittsburgh. He hail 
remained to meet with the Legislanre at its next session, 
and .Ii)nes, returning to act with him, they were then r(X"Og- 
nizetl as delegates. Learning that the ]>owder had not yet 
lH>en .sent for, they took the river route home, and, having 
secured some boatmen, thev sailed ilown the river and 



OLD YINCENNES. 147 

landed at a point near where ]\raysville, Is^j., is located, 
and there hid the powder, finding that they did not have 
enough force to transfer it to Harrodsburg. On their re- 
turn home a coanpany was sent for the powder, and suc- 
ceeded in delivering it at its destination. Clark had so 
endeared himself to the settlers that he was looked up to as 
their leader, and he proceeded to organize them, thus form- 
ing the foundation for the great commonwealth of Ken- 
tucky. Having formed the male portion of the little com- 
munity into a militia, he equipped them with material for 
defensive warfare, and his and:)ition then went out in a 
desire to take the offensive against the English, who held 
certain points, and gave encouragement tO' Indian out- 
breaks. He, as a preliminary, sent out two spies to visit 
Kaskaskia and Vincennes posts, and to leam their strength 
and the temper of the French people living at these places. 
The messengers returned with encouraging news, but,, as 
he had no authority to make an aggTessive move, nor the 
means to sustain him if he did, he determined to lay his 
scheme before the Assembly, and, accordingly, returned 
to Virginia. He presented his plans to Governor Henry, 
who, l)eing favoraldy impressed with them, called in coun- 
sel Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe and George Mason, 
to consider the matter. This eminent triumvirate, in coun- 
cil with the great Governor Henry and the dashing young 
hero of the West, Clark, proved themselves worthy of the 
task of evolving the magnificent scheme that brought to 
Virginia's door the gift of the Xorthwest Territory. The 
counselors readily adopted Clark's plans, and he was 
supplied with £1,250 and authorized to raise seven com- 
panies of fifty men each to further the scheme, trust- 



1J8 IIISTOIMCAT. SKKTCIIKS 

ing to the Lc«rislatiirc to legalize their action. The Gov- 
ernor issne«l two sets of instrnctions to Clark for his 
gnidance, one of a s(»cret nature and the other for the pnb- 
lic.* The one for tlie pnhlie merely authorize<l Clark to 
raise seven companies of militia in any county of the 
State and proceed to Kentucky, they to be under the 
orilers <»f ( 'lark. The secret order was to advance on Kas- 
kaskia or \'incennes, and set forth in detail as to pro- 
cedure and advice as to his actions with any con(iiU're<l 
enemies and friends joining the American cause. Gather- 
ing his troojjs together at the Falls of the Ohio, he consoli- 
dated them at "Com Island, "+ which he fortifie<l. Having 
suppli(Ml himself with l)<>ats for descending the river, the 
day itcfore his dcjiartnrc he, for the tirst time, informed 
his tnM»ps (d* their destination. Captain Pilhird's com- 
pany at once mutinie<l, and about thirty of them escaped 
that night to the Kentucky shore. Clark sent troopers 
after them, with instructions to capture or kill the desert- 
ers. ()nly ten were returned to the foit ; the others 
reachetl llarrodshurg after enduring hardships and suffer- 
ing. 'J'he news of their <lesertion having prece<letl them, 
they were denied admittance to the fort for some time. 
Thci troo])s had heen pntmised by the (lovemor, Jefferson, 
Wythe and Ma.son that if they were successfid they would 
he given .'520 acres e^ich of land in ad«lition to their salaries. 
This i)romise was faithfully kept, and 14'.l,(MM) acres of 
land were set apart for thei>e sohliers and officers. These 
lands were located in Clark, Floyd and Scott counties, and 
were known as ''Clark's Grant." All things Ix'ing in readi- 

• For the plans of Clark to luccced, perfect aerreoy was ne<-esfary, ami hence 
the matter wa« not placed before the lefrislature. 

t So called because it is i>aid that corn was first raised then- in Kentucky. 



OLD VmCENNES. 149 

ness, on the 24t}i day of June, 1778, the boats ladened 
with cargo and 175 troops started. Clark says: "We left 
our little island and ran al)ont a mile up the river in order 
to gain the main channel, and shot the falls at the very mo- 
ment of the sun being in a great eclipse." This circum- 
stance was calculated to add solemnity to the occasion, and 
awe and forebodings to the superstitious. He had first con- 
templated an attack upon Vincennes, but, learning it was 
well garrisoned, he steered down the river, with Kaskaskia 
as his objective point, and, after a four days' run, he landed 
on a small island at the mouth of the Tennessee river. 
Wliile resting there they captured a boat containing six 
hunters who had left Kaskaskia eight days before, and 
who gave much information and expressed a desire to join 
Clark's force, Avliich offer was accepted, after a consulta- 
tion. Hiding their boats up a creek, the next morning 
they started for a hundred-and-twenty-mile tramp through 
the wilderness, prairie and swamps. On the third day of 
their journey one of the new accessions, a man named San- 
ders, who essayed to guide them, got bewildered and got off 
the right course, and the suspicion was at once formed that 
he was playing traitor. Clark gave him one hour to find 
the road ov be shot as an alternative. After circling about 
some time, he succeeded in finding the road, and then all 
went well. The man proved to be a true patriot and was 
of much value to the army. On the 4tli day of July the 
army got within three miles of Kaskaskia, and, after night- 
fall, they marched up the Kaskaskia liiver one mile to a 
farm house, taking the family prisoners, who informed 
Clark that the garrison was not expecting an attack, and 
no sentries were out. Finding plenty of boats, the soldiers 



lou IIISTOIJTCAL SKHTCITKS 

soon crossed the river in silence. Clark says: "I ilivided 
my little aniiy into two divisions and onlere^l one to sur- 
ronnd the town. With tlic other I hroke into the fort, se- 
cnrtMl the Governor, Mi-. lJ«K'hl)lave, in fifteen niinntes, 
and had every street secured; sent runners through the 
town, ordering: the peo]de, on pain of death, to keep close 
to their houses, which order they observe<l, and before day- 
light had the wlioje town <lisanned."* Thus ended the 
splendid, though hazardous, eani]>aign <»f Clark's little 
arniy, which was hut the earnest of the more brilliant 
achievement that was to culminate in the overthrow of 
the British army in the Northwest 'Fcrritory, and give to 
Virginia a small empire, in the capture of Vincennes, 
seven months later. 

I'p to this time Kaskuskia was the New France, and was, 
to the French in America, what Paris was to France. In 
1721 the .lesuits erected a monastery and college there, 
an<l it was the center (»fgayety, and fashion, and hapj)iness. 
"\'i>v many years,'' (iovernor Ueynolds of Illinois, in his 
history, says, "Kaskaskia was the largest town west of 
the Alleghany mountains, and was a tolerable one Ix^fore 
the existence* of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati (»r Xew Orleans,'* 
and was the ca|>ital of lllinnis during its territorial e.xist- 
I'uce, aft,er its capture by the Americans.'' 

"It is marvel(»tis that the town, being so well fortified," 
says Major Bowman, "and able to have fought successfully 
a thousand men, should be so easily ca])tured by less than, 
two hundred half-starve<l and foot-sore soldiers." The gar- 
rison on that night mtist have given themselves over to 
revelry, as they were t^iken wholly unawares, which con- 

" Clark'* IftUsr t<> .Mnnon. 



OLD VmCENNES. 151 

ditioii of affairs, tlirou2:li luck and Loldness, Clark happily 
took advantage of. Having been taught by the British 
that the Americans killed all prisoners, the people were in 
despair, and offered to* become slaves to their ea|>t(irs if 
their lives and those of their families would only be spared. 
To meet the exigency and to disabuse their minds, Clark 
ordered the assendjling of all the principal men of the town 
who were lamenting their misfortune, and explained to 
them the object of their mission, and that it was not to 
enslave them, but to win their zeal and attachment to the 
cause of the Auiericans, and that they could enjoy their 
property and be protected in their liberty if they gave their 
allegiance to America. "ISTo sooner had they heard this than 
they fell into transports of joy that surprised me," says 
Clark, "and they told me that they had always been kept in 
the dark as to the dispute between America and Great 
Britain, and had been prejudiced against the Americans; 
that they were now ])ersuaded that they ought to, and did 
that night, espouse their cause, to the number of 105, by 
taking the oath of allegiance to the States." Before starting 
on his campaign to Vincennes Clark captured Cahokia. 
His advance on Vincennes and its capture l)y him are nar- 
rated fully in another chapter of this work.* 

Immediately after the capture of Vincennes, General 
Clark conceived the desire to advance on Detroit, and the 
great importance of such a move caused him to at once 
commence ])reparing for it, but there were so nniny ob- 
stacles in the way that the scheme was finally abandoned. 
His troops were worn out, money became depreciated, the 
failure of promised additions to his army and a strengthen- 

••■•See Chapters III and IV. 



152 IILSTUUK AL SKKTellKS 

iii^ (»f l)('tn»it's defenses, all tended towanl an ahandi>n- 
nient <»f tlie projeet. On Aufrnst .">, 177'.', lie issued an 
order establish inir his iieadiiuarters at the P'alls of the Ohio, 
and siMin ninvcd the g:arrisf>n there to the mainland, <^n the 
Kcntiickv si(h', an<i drew a plan fnr the town of T.ouisville, 
then look \ij» his (|narters there. 

The lnilian< liaviiiir made frwpient raids fi-i>iM ()hiu into 
Kj'iitufkv settlements, Clark ijot tojjetlier alwnt 1,000 men 
and moved to tiie month of the Lickin*; river and started 
for an Indian town, ( 'hillienthe. 'i'he Indians havinir heen 
apj)rised iif his cdmini:', Hed and (lark destroveil the tnwn 
and crops and nn»ve»l on to ]*itpia, where he foiiirlit a l)attle, 
<lefeatin<r the Indians, when he hnrned their lints, de- 
stroyed their crops and retreated, havinir tanirht the sav- 
ages a lesson. lie s<M»n afterwards went t<> N'iriiinia to 
a<lv(K'ate an attack on Detroit. While he was there Benedict 
Arnold made a raid into \'iri:inia, hnt was compelled t4» 
retreiit l>y ('lark, at the head of a companv. with a loss of 
seventeen. lie was a l>riira<li«'r-(ieneral of the State 
tro«ips. i)nt he did not like it hecanse the State ottieers <lid 
not have eipial rank with those of theFe<leration. His com- 
jdaint was of no ;ivail. and he was comjx-lled to remain 
nntler State onlers. lie a^ain made an appeal to Wa.sh- 
in^ton for aid to carrv ont his ])lans a<rainst Detroit, hnt, 
owing to the stress of monev matters ami the dearth of 
troops, the President couM lend no ai<l, hut joiiK- 1 (iuv- 
ernor »Ietferson in ajiprova! of the plan. 1 he (Jovernor 
was anxions for (lark to make the trial ami issued ordei*s 
for troops and supplies, hnt. ir.stead (d* J.iHtO men, only 
400 re])orte<l at PittsUnrj^h. lie started down the river 
with tjn^se, liopinir that some others would f<dlow; one com- 



OLD VINCENNES. 153 

pany did, but was ambuscaded and destroyed. This disaster 
liad such a discouraging eflt'ect upon both Clark and his 
troops that the advance was abandoned. After returning 
to the Falls he had some gunboats made at his own expense 
for the purpose of plying the waters between that place and 
Cincinnati, which materially aided in preventing Indian 
raids lioth on land and on water. The Miamis still con- 
tinuing to cross into Kentucky, he headed another anny 
and nuirched on their settlements at Chillicothe and Piqua, 
in I^ovember, killing many savages, burning their houses 
and destroying their cro]3s, leaving their w^omen and chil- 
dren unsheltered, with winter coming on and nothing to 
eat. The demoralizing effect of the loss of their property 
resulted in keeping the Indians on the north side of the 
Ohio river. A cessation of hostilities occurred between the 
Colonies and England, September 3, 1783, and Congi-ess 
ratified the treaty of peace on January 14, 178-4. On 
March 1, 1784, Congress accepted the gift of the Territory 
from Virginia, and Clark, seeing no future for him, as he 
was a State officer, sent in his resignation and he was re- 
leased from his command. After Virginia had ceased to 
care for the Xorthw^st Territory and the United States 
becoming neglectful of their interests in their new" pos- 
sessions, things began to be badly managed, mostly on ac- 
count of tlie nonpayment of troops and failure to provide 
them with sufficient ])r()visions and the existence of worth- 
less scrip, which the people had at first taken at par and 
which fell to 1,000 pev cent, discount. The murmurs of 
discontent became so loud that there existed great danger 
of the loss of the prestige gained by (Uark only a few years 
l^efore. The people petitioned the Kentuckians for the 



ir,4 iiisToiaiAL sKi:'r( iiKs 

return of ("lark, and in 17>'<>. l>y autlioritv of the Kcn- 
tuckv ("ouncil, assembled at Danville, and under sanetion 
of Governor llenrv, Clark conp'(^ite<l his trtwps at the 
falls aii<l started fur the Wahash repc>n. Vpin\ his an-ival 
at \'ineennes he was hanijK'red hy the nonarrival of stores, 
which had U-en s|M»iled and (hdayed hy river tran>porta- 
tion. Finally ho niarehed up as far as Ouiateuoii. Tiie 
Indians had retreated. About this time nuitiny was rife 
in the eamjK plea<lin^ hy Clark, even to tears, availed 
nothing, and several hundred deserted. Desertions and 
lack of provisions caused him to return to Vineenues, when 
he detailed l.'iO men for the <j:arrison. This act, althoufrh 
sanctioned hy a council of officers, for the protection of the 
local and general interests of the countrv, was misjudged 
and criticisetl l>y his enemies, and when ho returned to 
Kiiilucky he was relieved of all authority. Ahout this 
time the Cnited States Government assumed connnand and 
garrisoned Vincennes, bv sending ^lajor llamtranck with 
a company of soldiers here. 

(General Clark being ndieved of military authority, 
unf<»rtunately for his reputati<»n, acce]>ted a .Major-Gen- 
eralship in the French service against Spain. That countrv 
held jMissession <»f the ^Iississip]>i river to the great detri- 
ment of the American tra<le, and Clark thought it would Ik? 
a great benefit to the States if he could break the power of 
S|iiiin by the capture (d' .\cw Orleans, and made a propo- 
sition to raise -J.OOO men to accomplish thi.s. Ilis enemies 
innnediiitely re])orted this item to the Washington Govern- 
ment ami stejis were taken to stop the contemplated raid 
against a friendly ( () government. Clark, finding his mo- 
tives being misconstrued and obstacles ]dace<l in his way. 



OLD YINCENNES. 155 

abandoned the entei^prise and permanently retired to civic 
pnrsnits in Indiana, and settled at Clarksville, a town laid 
oir where Jeffersonville now stands, on a thonsand-acre 
tract reserved from the "Clark Grant" for that pnrpose by 
the United States Government. Here he lived in qniet re- 
tirement and finally became paralyzed in 1809 ; and one 
day, being- alone, he fell into an open fireplace, when one 
of his limbs was frightfully burned before assistance 
came. After this accident he was removed to the residence 
of his brother-in-law. Major William Croghan, near Louis- 
ville, Ky., where he remained during the balance of his 
life, lie never married. In 1812 Virginia voted him a 
sword and a pension of $400 per annum. He died Feb- 
ruary 13, 1818, and was buried at Locust Grove, a private 
burial ground at the country seat of his brother-in-law. 
Major Croghan, situated a few miles above the city of 
Louisville, Ky. The court in Louisville adjourned upon 
hearing of his death, and the bar appointed Honorable 
John Rowan to deliver an eulogy upon his life and services, 
and passed resolutions of condolence and resolved that the 
members should wear crepe for thirty days as a token of 
respect for the departed. Thus ended the eventful and 
grand career of one of the most remarkable characters in 
American history ; one who deserved more and received 
less than any public man, measured by the results obtained 
through his jjatriotism, energy, foresight and skill. Had 
he received the encouragement and aid to enable him to 
have consummated his advance on Detroit, as proposed and 
nrged by him, especially soon after the capture of Vin- 
cennes, the mainstay of English influence would have been 
stricken down, which was the feeder and energizer of the 




Kfc\ tKtM) i'lKKRK OlHAULT. 



OLD VINCENNES. 157 

Indians, and thousands of lives would have been spared, 
millions of nionev saved, and Canada swallowed up by 
the Union, and English prestige forever driven from the 
Western Continent. The debt of gratitude and honor that 
is yet due him by America has still to be paid, and his 
memory fittingly embalmed on the roll of honor as one de- 
serving innnortal fame. To George Eogers Clark, next to 
George Washington, the father of his country, is due the 
greatness of the Union. 

REVEREND PIERRE GIBAULT. 

In the history of JN^ations we find generally that heroic 
deeds of valor are awarded to military actors in the gi'eat 
drama of life, as it passes in review before the gaze of the 
people, but civic actors have achieved victories no less 
worthy of renown gained in quieter ways than amid the 
din of battle, through life's duties well jjerfomied. 

The subject of this brief sketch, Eeverend Pierre 
Gibault, was born in April, 17-37, in the Dominion of 
Canada, and was educated for the priesthood, and in early 
manhood evinced a desire to give his services to the church 
in the western wilds, as a missionary to the pioneers and 
Indians, who were without the light of the Gospel which 
leads to higher life and civilization. As soon as he was 
ordained, in 1768, he started for the West along the Can- 
adian border to his objective point, Kaskaskia, where he 
arrived the latter part of the year, and it is said that he 
dedicated the first church erected in the city of St. Louis, 
in 1769. His mission was to the "Illinois Country" and 
hence his labors were confined not alone to Kaskaskia. In 



158 lllsroIlK Al> SKI:T(1IKS 

tin' vcar 17T<> li<' visited the villsiire of Vinceimos. 1I«> was 
no nnlinarv man, an<l wlicrcvcr liis niissioii took him ho 
verv soon, by his intuit imi of human charai-tcr, alfal>ility, 
sim]>lic'ity ami sweetness of manners, gained tlie contith-nee 
of the settlers and Indians. Durinji: his tirst visit to Vin- 
cennes he was reeeive<l with the utmost cordiality and lie 
80on heeame a favorite with all classes. In March he re- 
turned to Kaskaskia, his usual place of residence, hut for 
.sevenil years he continue<l to pay occasional visits to the 
"Post." lie was fi»r a time the only priest in Tn<liana. 
His zeal and enerjry were wonderful, his labors almost sur- 
passing Ixdief.* We find fr<»m the records of the church 
that, in July, ITTs, he was at \'incennes (having Ikn^h won 
over til the American cause at Kaskaskia by Colonel 
Clark), exerting himself successfully in in<lucing the 
French inhabitants to declare in favor »d' the Fnited States 
sigainst (ireat lirilain. At this time he had gone to Vin- 
cennes at the instance of ( 'olonel (Jeorge KogiM's ("lark, 
in com])any with Doctor LaFcmte as civil magistrate. Cap- 
lain L<Minar<l Helm re])resenting the military of Virginia, 
and .Moses Henry, interpreter and envoy to the Indians. 
At Iiever<iid (Jibault's re<piest a meeting was called at t!ie 
church — the i^nglish commaixlant, Covenior Abhut, hav- 
ing gone to Detroit and left the garrison id' Freiu'h militia 
under St. Maria Kaeiiu — and. through the Kevei-eiid 
Father's persuasive id»Mpience, the iidiabitants t^M^k the 
oath of allegiance to the American cause and the garrison 
an<l fort were (hdivere<l over to ('aptain Ilehii. Tims it 
was that the tirst capture of **Fort Saekville" (and tlie 
village of N'incennes) was without lilnmlshed, ami wlitdly 

" l.nw 's Ilijt. Vinccnnei'. \>. 1 1»>. 



OLD VINCENNES. 159 

through the instrumentality of the patriot priest-ally, that 
hero of astute diplomacy — Pierre Gibault. Clark, not 
having troops to maintain the advantage gained, and being 
rendered thereby incapable of garnering the fruits of this 
glorious victory of Father Gibault, the village and fort 
were soon retaken l)y the English commander. Governor 
Henry Hamilton. But the seed of liberty had been sown 
and had taken deep root, and as soon as opportunity under 
the protection of Clark's little army offered, the plant sent 
forth its flowers in perpetual bloom, to bless the people 
in all time with their fragrance. The influence of Father 
Gibault's labors were more than local and his name should 
be cherished by American citizens with an ardor fully 
equal to that displayed for LaFayette or Rochambeau, for 
the beneficent results following Gibault's patriotic zeal, 
his tenacious fidelity to the American cause of liberty, will 
give measure for measure with those great French Gen- 
erals. 

Following the capture of Vincennes Reverend Gibault 
became pastor of St. Xavier's church here in 1785 and 
remaiued until 1789. 

"In 1788 Father Gibault had already requested the 
Bishop of Quebec tO' recall him from Vincennes, where, at 
that time, he had taken up his residence. When his peti- 
tion, addressed to Governor St. Clair, for a piece of land in 
Caliokia was grantetl, or seems to have been granted. 
Bishop Carroll immediately protested against this attempt 
to alienate church property to an individual clergyman.* 
^x\pparently, in consequence,' says Shea, 'the Reverend 
Gibault left the diocese of Baltimore and retired to the 



■' Letter of Father Schmidt, October 15, 1895, English Conquest of Northwest, 
p. 188. 



IGO HISTOK'K AI. SKKTCIIKS 

Spanish Torritorv Ix-vond the Mississippi.' " lie iinally 
setth'd in Xcw Madrid, Mo., where he died early in 1804> 
Of Father Pierre Gibault it iiiav well l)e said : 

For duties well performed, on earth, 

III mcasun' full he paiued renoAVu; 
Wliich, hut in feehle type, i)re.saped 

For him, Heaven's glorious crown. 

FRANCIS VIGO. 

Colonel Francis \'igo was one of the notable and dis- 
tinguished citizens of the old town the last quarter of the 
eighteenth and the first third of the nineteenth centuries^ 
and his name should ever Ix" held in grateful remembrance 
by the country at large, lie is spoken of by some writ<:»rs 
as of Spanish birth, but others contend that he was a native 
of Sardinia,* but went into Spain's military service at a 
very early age; i)ut finally he left the anny and drifted 
into the trade of furs and hides and general merchandis- 
ing after coming to Anurica. From Xew Orleans he came 
to St. Louis alNiut the year 1775. As a trader he l)eci\me 
well and favorably known among the Indians and the 
French inhabitants of all a<ljaeent settlements, and by his 
friendly demeanor and just treatment of the Indians in 
his intercourse witli them, they bec^ime attachetl to him 
and trusted him implicitly. Being asked once by an old 
citizen whence his great infiuence with the Indians, he 
replied: "H<'caus<' T never <leceive an Indian." After 
(olund (lark had captured Kaska.skia and through strat- 
eg\- had gained |)ossessi(m of Post Vincennes, an<l Colonel 

" It i» more probable that he wn« of Spanish birth.'and came from the city of 
Vi»n, *ituated on the bay of Vice, in the south of Spain. 



OLD VINCENNES. 



161 



Hamilton had retaken it, thus making Clark's position at 
Kaskaskia precarious, if not untenable, with his small 
army, the expirations of many of the enlistments of his 
troops occurring' at this time, Clark determined to make a 
bold strike at Hamilton's i^osition. Before doing this, how- 
ever, it was important to learn, through spies, the situation 
at the Post. In his dilem- 
ma, it is related by some 
writers. Colonel Clark 
made Colonel Vigo, his 
diplomat and agent, go to 
Vincennes and ascertain 
the strength of Lieutenant- 
Governor Hamilton, the 
quality of the defenses, and 
the feeling of the French 
citizens, before determining 
the next step in his cam- 
paign. And it is said that 
Vigo was captured while 
on that duty, at the mouth 
of the Embarrass river, 
eight miles below Vin- 
cennes, but subsequently re- 
leased by Llamilton, through the influence of citizens, noth- 
i-g incriminating having been found upon him indicating 
that he was a spy. The condition of his release was that he 
was to return directly to his home in St. Louis, which was 
then a possession of Spain. Ii is said that he adhered to 
his promise, but immediately after his arrival he delayed 
no longer than was necessary to get a relay, before pro- 




C(JI,ONEL FRANCIS V ICU . 



[11] 



lf)2 lllS'l'ol.'K AL SKi:'|'( IIKS 

ceeding to comiminicjit^' with Clark at Kaskaskia. That 
he was the medium of the information to ( 'hirk there is no 
doubt, ])oeau.*o tlic latter alhides to the arrival of Colonel 
Vipu from Vineennes, hrinofing the information desired; 
whether Vigo was in possession of this information for 
Clark as special envoy or not is not positively known. 

Following in the wake of the capture of Hamilton's 
forces, Colonel Vigo appears on the scene as Colonel 
Clark's friend and helper in times of need, lie ('a.^hed 
Clark's vouchers for necessary expenses of the army, as the 
latter had failed to receive funds from Virginia to ]>a^ the 
soldiers, or for his commissary supplies for the army. 
Colonel Vigo, having accumulated iiiiu-h wealtli by trad- 
inir. he dealt it out with a liberal hand to .-ustain the credit 
of the N'irginia forces and keep that State's credit at par. 
And yet, to the shame of that State and the United States 
Government, which became in a few years aftenvards the 
beneficiary of the whole Xorthwest Territory, Colonel Vigo 
died a poor man, not having received a cent's remuneration 
from either Grovermnent for his lavish mlvances of 
many thousands of dollai*s, through his generous and patri- 
otic impulses hi l)ehalf of the American cause. Petitions to 
Congress for his reindmrsemcnt prove<l futile for many 
years ; he died ^farch 22, 1836, before the scales of justice 
had assunu d an e<|uilil)rium. Colonel Vigo marrie<l a 
Miss Elizabeth Shannon, who was born in Vincennes, 
March 2^3, 1770, but she died in early life. So when he 
<lied, having no relatives, he left his claim against th,' 
Ciovcrnmcnt to his nei)hews, Ar('hil>ald 15. McKcm' and Vigo 
M«-K('c. children of Sarah Shannon, who married Dr. 
Samuel .\b'Kee, Surgeon United States Armv at this 



OLD VINCENNES. 163 

Post, and perhaps to Captain R. Buntin's family, as they 
were connected through Mary Shannon, wife of the Cap- 
tain. Those interested continued to prosecute the claim, 
until it was finally referred to a court of claims, which gave 
judgment in 1875 for $8,616 principal, and interest to the 
amount of $41,282.60, making a total of $49,898.60. 

During Colonel Vigo's prosperity, in the closing days of 
the eighteenth centur)^, he built a most elegant residence 
in the to^vn. It stood on a lot near, or on the site of the 
present Odd Fellows' hall. It was surrounded by a veran- 
da painted white, its blinds the purest tint of green. Its 
large parlors with their high ceilings, imported mantels, 
its floors inlaid with diamond-shaped pieces of black wal- 
nut and white oak, highly polished, made it a marvel of 
beauty in those days. It was this beautiful parlor that 
Governor William Henry Harrison occupied as his first 
residence upon his arrival in January, 1801, at the invi- 
tation of Colonel Vigo, it having been just completed ; and 
the Governor, not finding a suitable house for a residence, 
accepting the invitation. Colonel Vigo filled the office of 
Colonel in the 1st Regiment in the Territorial militia 
in the early part of the last century ; he resigned May 5, 
1810. In 1805, February 16th, he was granted a license to 
keep a ferry from his land on the northwest side of the 
Wabash river and opposite to the town of Vincennes across 
said river.* Some writers have doubted that Colonel Vigo 
ever resided in Vincennes. J^othing is more susceptible of 
proof than that he was a resident here for quite fifty years. 
He o^^^led, in addition to his town property (he was pos- 
sessed of considerable property adjoining town), a farm 

'•"Executive Journal of the Territory, p. 126. 



10 t 



HISTOWICAL SKKTCHKS 



thrt'e miles southeast of the town, the residence of his 
nephew, the hite A. B. !MeKee, where he resided many 
years. But, before the close of his life, he resided in town, 
and dio<l in a frame building on Main street, between 
Fourth and Fifth streets, a<ljoining the old W. J. Hel>erd 
house, a few doors west of the Bishop block, attended by his 
faithful friend, who had been his ward in early days, 
''Aunt" Betsy La Plante. To this fact the writer has had 
oral testimony of living witnesses, on tlie 8th day of May. 
1902, to \vit: Mr. Elbridge Gardner, undertaker; Mr. 
Vital Bouchie and Mrs. Elizabeth Andre — the latter being 
now al)Out ninety-three years of age. Colonel Vigo was 
buried in the city cemetery, where the grave is marke<l by 
a simple slab of sandstone, with the inscription: 



COLONEL FRANCIS VIGO, 

DIED 22ND DAV MARCH 1835* 
AGED 96. 



lie was pruhiiMy a Catholic in his yuulh, but according 
to Z. T. Emerson, in the History of Knox County, p. 70, 
ho <lid not die in that faith, although a trustee of St. 
FraiK'is Xavier church from 1818 to 1821. He was loved 
an<l honore<l by his fellow-citizens, as few men have been. 
The city honored liim by nnming one of her jtrincipal 

XoTK.— The date of 18.15 is an error; it was really 1H36, as the record of the 
undertakers, Andrew (inrdner k Son, shows. The junior member of this firm, 
Mr. Eldridtre (Sardner, who is yet lirinK. rememl.ers all the circiimstanee." con- 
ocrted with the death and burial. Mr». Doctor W. W. Uitt, just across the street, 
beinir buried the same day, and the inscription on her itrave's shaft bears the date 
of Mar h 22. lH.«i. Cidonel ViK<> was born about 1710, and calculating from this' 
he would have been ninety-aiz years old at the time of his death. 



OLD VINCENNES. 165 

streets after him, and the county has named one of her 
townships in honor of him to perpetuate his memory. The 
Vinconnes University has the only oil painting of this hero 
and patriot ; and it is the v.-riter's recollection that one of 
the first notes of the old State Bank of Indiana, chartered 
in 1836, had upon it a vignette likeness of him. I think 
he presented the bill either to the Vincennes Antiquarian 
Society or to the University. In the lapse of time it has 
been lost, hut may turn up some day as a valued relic in a 
coming age. When Indiana Territory became a State it 
named one of the principal northern counties in his honor ; 
and to show his appreciation of the compliment, a stipula- 
tion was embodied in his will that a sufficient sum required 
to purchase a bell for the court house should be paid to 
Vigo county. This stipulation was complied with and the 
bell provided thereunder is still in use on the court house 
at Terre Haute, to call the solons of justice to render jus- 
tice that was denied its giver during life by his Govern- 
ment. 

'No more fitting epitaph need be placed over the tomb of 
Colonel Francis Vigo than the eulogy passed on his life 
and character by General St. Clair, Governor of the 
Northwest Territory, in his report to the Secretary of 
War, in 1790, in which he said: 

"To Mr, Vigo, a gentleman of Vincennes, the United 
States are much indebted, and he is, in truth, the most 
distinguished person I have almost ever seen." 

Brave patriot, noble, good and wise ! 

Let all who view thy lonely tomb. 
Remember that beneath there lies 

One worthy spring's perpetual bloom. 



Kit, 1!IST()1M(AI> SK1:T('IIKS 

FRANCIS BUSSERON, THE FOSTER FATHER OF ALICE OF 
OLD VINCENNES. 

Another notable poi*sonage who figured most creditably 
in the early days of Vincennes, was Francis Busseron. 
Ho it was who joined Father Gibault in \vinniii<r over the 
French people to the American cause, upon the advent of 
Captain Leonard Helm, Colonel Clark's commissioner to 
Vincennes on August 6, 1778. When Father Gibault re- 
turned to Kaskaskia and informed Colonel Clark of the 
interest and loyalty M. Busseron had displayed in winning 
over the French from tho English, he sent him a connnis- 
sion as Captain, made him district connnaudant and au- 
thorized him to raise a compajiy of militia to aid the 
Americans. When Winthrop Sargent, Secretary of the 
Territory in 17'J0, made inquiry of the citizens and act- 
ing authorities by what right they had been disposing of 
the public domain. Captain F. Busseron was chosen at the 
head of a connnittee appointed by the citizens, to fonnulate 
an answer, which showed that he was considered one of the 
leading men of the town. It was Captain Busseron who 
gave shelter to ^lary Shannon, whose father it is said had 
been mnrdere<l by the Indians, and who had sought him as 
u friend of her father, lie became her foster father and 
raised her to womanhood, when she was united in marriage 
to Captain Robert Buntin, a leading citizen. She is the 
character, now celebrated as "Alice of Old Vincennes," 
U) whom Maurice Thompson gave the honor of raising the 
American Hag over Sackville upon its capture by Colonel 
( lark. The anachronism is excusable in the author, as he 
must have a heroine for the dramatic scene of the sur- 



OLD VINCENNES. 16? 

render. Had she been born a little earlier than May 1, 
1777, the event might have been historicallv correct in all 
particulars, since Captain Bnsseron was the officer of the 
town and a captain of the militia, as the reputed foster 
father, Gaspard Koussilou, appeared to have been. His- 
tory furnishes evidences that the old citizens honored Cap- 
tain Busseron and the succeeding generations have perpetu- 
ated his memory by naming one of the principal streets of 
the city after him, and the county its most northern town- 
shij) in his honi3r. And many of his descendants have oc- 
cupied honorable positions, one of whom is Judge Charles 
Busseron Lasselle, of Logansport, Ind., now an octoge- 
narian. General Hyacinth Lasselle, who was a resident of 
Vincennes early in the beginning of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, built the Lasselle Hotel, that stood on the comer of 
Perry and Second streets, where Bierhaus Brothers' large 
new building now stands. This hotel was built in 1812^ 
contained fifteen rooms, and was noted as the official "head- 
quarters" of Gen. Thomas Posey, who succeeded Harrison 
in 1813. The building was burned October 23, 1871. 




Chapter VIII. 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES CONTINUED— GENERAL 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 

Til K iiiiitli I'l-fsident of the United States was Will- 
iam llciirv irarrison, son of Benjamin Harrison, 
an opulent and distinguished citizen of Berkley, 
Va., and a close friend of President Washington, and was 
l>orn Februarv ".». 177'). Ilis father was a memWr of the 
( 'ontinrntal Congress aii<l was subseipiently (iovern»»r of 
\'irginia. Young Harrison had all the educationjd ad- 
vantages Hampden Sidney college could impart, and 
his mind was not slow to reap the Avealth of knowledge. 
After concluding his collegiate course he became a pupil 
of the celcbrateil l)<K'tor Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia, 
with the intention of Wcoming a physician. But his pa- 
triotic and adventurous disposition cause<l him to throw 
down the scaljX'l and medicines and seek a position in the 
army, when he received the office of Ensign from Washing- 
ton. Ho reported to the commander at Fort Washington 
and the first duty assigned him was the Ciire of a ]>ack-train 
l)ound for Fort Hamilton, on the ^liami river, forty miles 
from Fort Washington. 

Althoiigh but a youth, and rather delicate in aj)]iearance, 
he performe<l his duty like a veteran, instilling into his 
subordinates the value of temperance, which would enable 
them to bear hardships they othenvise could nut. lie was 
5WK»n promote<l t.> the rank of Lieutenant and jnincd the 

— 16H- 



OLD VINCENNES. 



169 



arniv placed under the command of General Wayne, who 
was appointed to reclaim the region lost by General Arthur 
St. Clair. 

On the Maumee river the Indians were encountered in 
large numbers, estimated at 2,000, and the battle ensuing 
was long and bloody, but they were so badly defeated that 
they pleaded for peace. Here Harrison's service was so 
valuable and conspic- 
uous he was promoted 
to the rank of Captain 
and given command at 
Fort Washington. 

The British posts in 
the ]S[orthwest about 
this time were surren- 
dered and he was oc- 
cupied in supplying 
them. While thus en- 
gaged he married a 
Miss Symes, a daugh- 
ter of John Cleaves 
Symes, a frontier resi- 
dent on the Maumee. 

In 17 9 7 Captain 
Harrison resigned his 
commission in the 

army and was appointed Secretary of the ISTorthwest Ter- 
ritory, and ex-officio Lieutenant-Governor, General St. 
Clair being Governor. At that time no one could purchase 
tracts of land in less quantity than 4,000 acres, and Harri- 
son, in spite of violent opposition, had the law rescinded 




WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



irO IIIS'lOIflCAL SKETCHES 

for the benefit of p(K>r settlers who had hitherto to pur- 
cliase their lands second-handed, often at exorhitant prices. 

In ISOO the Xortiiwt-st Territoi-^- was divide<l, tlie east- 
em portion enibrace<l in the State of Ohio, and called 
tlie Territory of Ohio; and the western portion, including 
that region which is now the States of Indiana, ^riciiigan, 
Illinois and Wisconsin, but then called Indiana Terri- 
tory. Harrison, then at the age of twenty-seven, was ap- 
pointed Governor of Indiana Territory', and immediately 
after also Governor of Upper Louisiana by John Adams, 
President. When he was appointed Governor there were 
but thre« white settlements embraced in his jurisdiction,, 
one on the Ohio river at the Falls, Vincennes on the Wa- 
bash, and a French setttlement on the Kaska^kia river. He 
arrived at his seat of government, Vincennes, January, 
1801, his StKjretary, John Gibson, having prece<led him 
and entere<l upon the formation of a Territorial Govern- 
ment. 

Governor Harrison's services were invaluable to the 
Washington Govornment, and during his administration, 
thirteen treaties were made with the Indians, and all of 
them were a>nfirmed by Congress. His administration had 
been so clean and satisfactory to the poweiN that \^e, that he 
roceive<l reappointments by Jefferson and Madison. 

During (iovcnior Han-ison's administration of the Ter- 
ritory, that which gave him the most renown was the vic- 
tor^' he gained over the Indian Confederacy, headed by 
Tecumseh and his brother Ollimacheca, the Prophet, at 
the battle of Tippecanoe, which occurred November 7, 
1811,* al>out seventy-nine miles above Vincennes near the 
site of LaFayette. 

"The epi.<ode Icadins up t<> thii battle will be foun<l rolnieii in the ihupterra- 
latinir to llarriion'i< innn.«iun. 



OLD VINCENNES. 171 

In 1812 he was appointed by President Madison Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the ^Northwestern army, with orders to 
retake Detroit, which had recently ignoaniuiously been sur- 
rendered by General Hull. Upon this appointment he 
resigned the office of Governor and set about raising an 
army to accomplish his orders. Before he was ready to 
advance. General Winchester had taken the initiative 
against orders, and was defeated, with a loss of his whole 
cxDmmand, in killed and captured, amounting to about 
1,000 men. 

This premature attack and disaster following it delayed 
the advance on Detroit, and on account of the swamps to be 
crossed to reach it. General Harrison, who had now been 
appointed Commander-in-Chief of the army, suggested 
that the attack be delayed until the winter, or, if sooner, by 
water, which was done; and on the 10th of September, 
Commander Perry, with his gallant squadron, met the Brit- 
ish fleet and at the close of a heroic sti-uggle found the 
American navy victorious. General Harrison now crossed 
the lake, took possession of Sandwich, the British retreating 
before him, and sent a brigade which seized Detroit. The 
British and Indian allies retreated, but made a stand on 
the banks of the Thames river, but this was of short dura- 
tion, and General Proctor's forces surrendered; but the 
Indians fought longer, before retreating, leaving their 
great Chief, Tecumseh, slain on the battlefield. This great 
battle gave peace to the Northwestern frontier, victory 
again perching on American arms, and Harrison receiving 
the plaudits of his countrymen. 

Soon after this, owing to want of harmony between the 
Secretaiw of War and himself, General Harrison resigned 



172 lIlsroUKAL SKKTCllKS 

his comiuission, iiuieli to the regret of President Madison. 
He, however, reniainetl in his country's service as com- 
missioner, to treat with the Indians, until 1816, when he 
was chosen a Representative to Congress from Ohio. 
Charges having Ix'en made, by some of his enemies, of cor- 
ruption, in rehition U) tlie commissariat of the army, a com- 
mittee of investigsition was appointed, who completely vin- 
dicated liis character, and paid a high compliment to his 
patriotism, honesty and devotion to public service. In 
1S15» he was elected to the United States Senate from Ohio, 
where he ably served his State. In 1828 President John 
(^uiney Adams appointed liim ^finistor of tlie Republic of 
Columbia, but upon the inauguration of General Jackson, 
a bitter fr>e of Harrison, in 1829, General Harrison was 
recall(Ml, when he returned to private life at North Bend, 
Ohio. 

General Harrison was accused of Ix'ing pro-slavery, but 
he replied to the accusation as follows: 

"F'rom my earliest youth, and to the present moment, I 
have l>een an ardent friend of human liberty. At the age 
of tMght<'en 1 iM'came a mendicr of an abolition society 
established at Richmond, Va., the object of whicli was to 
ameliorate the condition of slaves and procure their free- 
dom by every legal means. The obligations which I then 
e«me under I have faithfully performed. I have been the 
nu'ans of liberating many slaves, but never placed one in 
l>ondage. I was the first pers«m to introduce into Congress 
a proposition that all the country abovi- Missonri should 
never have slavery admitted into it." 

In 1S;{0 the frit^nds of General Harrison advocated his 
claims for the presidency, but the opposition to the do- 



OLD. VmCENNES. 173 

mocracy was divided and Martin Van Bnren was elected ; 
but at the close of Van Buren's administration General 
Harrison was the unanimous choice of the ^Vhig party, 
and he was trimnphantly elected to the presidency. He 
entered upon his duties with the brightest prospects of a 
successful administration, having selected an able Cabinet, 
with Daniel Webster as Secretary of State ; but in one short 
month he was stricken with pleurisy, and after a brief ill- 
ness he died April 4, 1841, honored and beloved by his 
countrymen. His remains were interred at ^STortli Bend, 
Ohio. 

GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR. 

President Zachary Taylor, tradition has it, once lived 
here early in the nineteenth century, and occupied the 
Benjamin Parke cottage, just south of Governor Harrison's 
residence, corner Hart and Water streets, and it may have 
been true, as he is said to have participated in the battle of 
Tippecanoe. History* tells that he was stationed at Fort 
Harrison (Terre Haute) in 1812. 

He was born in Virginia, but came to Kentucky in his 
infancy, his father settling on a farm near Louisville. His 
ancestry were distinguished patriots. He was the grand- 
son of Zachariah Taylor, son of James Taylor, the second, 
who was born in 1674, and died in 1729. His gi-and- 
father's sister, Frances Taylor, was the mother of Presi- 
dent James Madison, as the writer learns from his family 
tree of genealogy in his possession. He received such edu- 
cation as the country schools afforded, but early developed 
a patriotic feeling and a desire to fight the Indians, who 

* Abbott's History Presidents United States, p. 300. 



IM 



iiis'ioKUAL si\i:'r< iiKs 



Avorooftoiiiiiakinji' rai«l.s into tlu* State. His fatlu-r, Kic-hard 
Taylor, succeeded in p:etting: him a coinmission as Lieuten- 
ant in the Tnited States Aniiv. lie was first stati<»ne<l in 
New Orleans. Ilavini;: risen to the office of Captain, he 
was assigned to Fort Harrison, a fort General Harrison 
had hastily constructed while on his way (at Terre Haute) 
to the Prophet's town, near Lafayette, to engage the head 

of Tecumseh's confed- 
eracy and overthrow 
it. The year follow- 
ing: the building of the 
fort it was attacked by 
Indians, but C'aptain 
Taylor noldy <h'fond- 
cd his position and 
beat back his assail- 
ants : and for his gal- 
lant conduct was pro- 
iiiotccl to the office of 
^lajni-. At the termi- 
nation of the war with 
i'lngland t h v a r m y 
was curtailed, and he 
was reduced in office 
to that of Captain, when he resigned. Ihit he was re- 
stored to his majorship and sent to Fort Crawford, on 
Fox River, which empties into Green Bay. During his 
service there he was ai)jx»inted Colonel, and subs(x]uently 
])articipated in the IJlack Hawk War, one episode of which 
is Worth recording. He had in his force a large nund)er of 
militia who had volunte(?re<l for service in Hlinois onlv — 




GENERAL /ACHARY TAYLOR. 



OLD VmCENNES. 175 

IBlack Hawk liaving' crossed Rock River, then supposed to 
l3e the dividing- line of the State — and thej declined to go 
further, and a council of war was held ; many speeches 
were made, when finally Taylor was called on for his 
•opinion. He gravely rose and said: "Gentlemen and fel- 
low-citizens, the word has been passed on to me from 
Washington to folloAV Black Hawk, and to take you with 
me as soldiers. I mean to do both. There are the flatboats 
•drawn up on the shore ; there are Uncle Sam's men dra^^m 
up behind you on the prairie." The argument was con- 
■clusive, and, in a few hours, they were all across the river 
and in hot pursuit of their foe. 

In 1836 he was sent to Florida to assist in subduing the 
'Seminoles. The war was long and bloody, but he came out 
•conqueror. In May, 1838, he was commissioned General. 
After two years of hard, wearisome service in the Ever- 
glades, and at his request, he obtained a command embrac- 
ing Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, with 
headquarters at Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, in 1840. In the 
•spring of 1845 CongTess passed the act annexing Texas 
to the Union. This brought on the war wdth Mexico over 
a boundary question, and General Taylor Avas called into 
active service. The first serious encounter with the Mexi- 
■cans was in the battle of Palo Alto, when he met an army 
•of 3,000, who were aiding an attack on Fort Brown. With 
a less number Taylor, after a day's battle, forced the enemy 
to retire, but they took up a position three miles distant, 
at a place called Resaca de la Palma. Here he won an- 
other victory, and Fort Brown was relieved. After these 
battles the title of Brevet ^lajor-General was conferred on 
him. His next victory was at Monterey, where the ]Mexi- 



n6 HISTOinCAL SKETCHES 

can General, Anipiidia, capitulated after severe tij::liting. 
(Jenoral Scott, shortly after this, assumed command of all 
the American f(>rces in Mexico, and Taylor was left at 
^fnnterey with only about 5,000 troops for the garrisoning 
«tf the surrounding jxtsts. But in February this army 
was raised to 6,000 and a forward movement made. Fifty 
miles south of Afonterey he received word that Santa Anna 
was advancing on him, near the village of Buena Vista, 
with LM»,(t00 troops. Santa Anna sent an aide with a flag 
of truco, demanding his surrender. General Taylor's reply 
was, "General Taylor never surrenders ;" and, as he rode 
along his ranks, he said : '*I intend to stand here not only 
so long as a man remains, but so long as a piece of a man 
is left." The battle then commenced, February 22, 1847, 
and lasted ten hours. The night following the enemy re- 
treated. Auic'i-icjui loss, TOO in killed and wounded: Nfexi- 
cans, 2,000. 

These battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Mon- 
terey and Buena Vista brought General Taylor imperish- 
able renown, and such poj)ularity that he was given the 
presidential cliair in lSr>0 by a grateful people; l»ut he 
prematurely died in duly of the same year. His remains 
were interred in Frankfort, Ky. 

TECUMSEH. 

Tile war chief, Tecumscli, may well be rated as one of 
the foremost leaders of his race. He was a chief actor on 
battlefields from Louisiana to Canada, and his fame was 
ex>eval with the Northwestern country*. His wiir\vh(K>p was 
as magic to his fellow-countrvmen who dared to follow 
where he leil. He wa.s a iiuMuber of the Shawnee trilM-. and 



OLD TINCENNES. 177 

tradition gives the coast of tlie Gulf of Mexico as the home 
of his ancestry; but in the evolution of time the tribe be- 
came denizens in the Lake Region, at the head of the Wa- 
bash River. In the early exjiloration and settlement of this 
part of the Western CVintinent his tribe was found the most 
implacable the whites had to contend w^ith. They, in many 
ways, seemed to be in advance of the surrounding Indians, 
and their skill and strategy were superior in battle, and 
foes not easily placated in peace or conquered in war. 

Xothing of Tecumseh's boyhood is known, nor how soon 
he visited the village Clie-pe-ko-ke, of the Pinkeshaws ; 
Init the probability is that it was at an early day, as this 
was a large trading post. His brother, the Prophet, exer- 
cised such influence over the tribes in this region, in a 
spiritual way, that Tecumseh gained additional favor 
thereby, and occupied as high a position in the temporal 
affairs of the adjacent tribes as the Prophet did in spirit- 
ual matters. Being thus exalted with his race, he sought 
to form a confederation of all the tribes with a view of 
beating back the encroachments of the whites and annul- 
ing the treaties that had been made, from time to time, 
and especially those entered into between Governor Har- 
rison and themselves. His plans were deep-laid ones, and,, 
had a consolidation of the tribes, jSTorth and South, been, 
consunmiated before the Prophet's forces were attacked,, 
in his absence on his federating mission, disaster might, 
have occurred to the whites in all this country. 

His visit to General Harrison, in the summer of 1811^ 
on which occasion he denied the right of the separate tribes; 
to make treaties, and intimated that they were held to be 
void by the Indians, and that they would not live up to 

[12] 



i;8 nis'ioiMcAL sKirrciiKs 

them, convinced Harrison of his danger, and he immedi- 
ately oomnicnccil perfect inff phins to circumvent Tecumseh 
and tlie Prophet. Having received additional tro».ps in the 
fall of 1811, he started for the Prophet's headquarters, up 
the Wabash, determined to force a settlement, hv treaty or 
battle. The result of this campaign was the battle of Tip- 
pecanoe, on November 7, when the Prophet's and Tecum- 
seh's ]»()\v(r was broken, and the proposed alliances with 
other tribes in the South were frustrated. After this dis- 
aster Tecumseh returned to his tribe in the northern part 
of the State, but the prestige of his warriors, left after the 
battle, was gone, and his scheme of confederation was aban- 
doned ; but for several years afterward he gave trouble 
to adjacent settlements. Being disgusted, he (juitted the 
northern part of the State, and allied himself to the tribes 
in ^lieiiigan, and joined hands with the English, whose 
headquarters were at Detroit. 

After Commodore Perry's notable victory over the Brit- 
ish fleet in a naval battle on Lake Erie, on the 10th of Sep- 
tember, 1M4, General Harrison crossed the lake, t(x>k pos- 
session of Sandwich, the British forces retreating, Proetor 
leading the English and Tecumseh the Indians. They 
made a stubborn stand on the banks of the River Raison, 
but the battle was short and decisive. Proctor surrendering 
the English forces, but the Indians, under Tecumseh, n^ 
treated ; but, after a little longer fighting, they fled, leaving 
their chief slain on the field. 

It seems the irony of fate that the two greatest Indian 
warriors of the time, the Prophet and Tecumseh, his 
brother, should meet complete disaster under the leader- 
ship of General William Henry Harrison. The (juestion 



I 



OLD VINCE^'NES. 179 

Avho killed Tecuniseh has ever been an unsolved connn- 
drnni. 

Among the Kentnckv troops at the battle when he was 
killed was Colonel Tviehard M. Johnson, who claimed to 
have been the slayer of the great Indian hero ; but many 
of his comrades doubted his claim, and said that the fight 
was so fast and furious, of the pell-mell fashion, that it 
would have been impossible to positively know the soldier 
who did the deed. The writer knew well and conversed 
with an intelligent gentleman who was engaged in the bat- 
tle who doubted the accuracy of Johnson's claim. Never- 
theless he got the credit of it, and was elevated to the vice- 
presidency, by the euphonious refrain, during the can- 
vass of the presidential election, of "Rumpsy-dumpsy, Old 
Dick Johnson killed Tecmnseh." The writer heard often 
the catchy phrase in his boyhood days, which no doubt exer- 
cised a potent influence upon many voters. 

In after years similar phrases, as "Tippecanoe and Tyler 
too" and "Old Rough and Ready," were made to do good 
service in presidential campaigiis. 

Had Tecumseh been surrounded by other environments, 
where education and civilization exert noble and elevating 
influences, he might have been a benefactor to his race and 
his memory cherished coeval with time. He was astute, 
brave, broad in intellect, and not devoid of noble impulses. 
As it is, he was known to his race only as a brave and 
heroic leader, and to the white man as a dauntless, intrepid, 
and astute warrior, fitly ranking with Osceola, Black 
Hawk and other famed Indians. And yet, if his memory 
is perpetuated, it must be by his foes who will not with- 
hold such praise as is justly due him. 



ISO IIISToKMi AL SKi:'|-( IIF.S 



JOHN nUFFIELD HAY. 



The subject of this sketch was a notable character in old 
Vinconnes. He was lx>rn in Dauphin Countv, Pennsyl- 
vania, in ITT.'c settled in this town in 1801], and enjrajred 
in the mercantile business, which he c<intinued until ho 
died, NovciiiIm r .'., 1>40. He was married in ISO-i to Miss 
Sarah Ilanev, of .Marvlan<l. In ISl^^ he was ])ostmaster 
of X'ineennes, and llecorder of the County of Knox. On 
Januan' 29, 1814, he met the misfortune of having his 
house and store burned, with all the records of the Re- 
corder's office, the postoffice, and three children. In this 
coiitla^ration, besides iiis family loss, gCMxls and valuahles 
to the amo\int of $l'(),(MM) were consumed. To nmke the dis- 
aster more horrible, an explosion of three hundred po\inds 
of gunpowder in the cxi'llar occurred, killing one man and 
injuring another so that he s\d)sequently died of his inju- 
ries, and flojng great damage to adjacent property. 

He was a volunteer captain in the army with (lovernor 
Harrison, and was aide-de-can»p to the connnander-in-chief 
in 1M2. He was in the battle of Tijjpecanoe, and I will 
here recctrd a letter written by him just after his return 
home from the battle, as a historical contribution <d' that 
memorable evi-nt. It was written to his father, ('<tl<»nel 
William Hay, of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania: 

"N'incennes, Xovemher J<>, Isll. 

"Dear Father — On the l.')th of October last I was ordereil 
to join a tr«M>p of cavaln* to which I l>elonge<l. It was then 
with the army on its march against the hostile Indians up 
the Wabash. I set out. and in three davs overtook the armv 



OLD VmCENNES. 181 

on the 21st at Fort Harrison, eigiity miles north of this 
place. Eig'lit clays after my arrival the army took np the 
line of march, and on the 6th day of this month we got in 
sight of the Prophet's town. The Indians, seeing onr ap- 
proach, sent out a flag of truce, and hegged of the Governor, 
who was connnander-in-chief, to retire to a creek one-half 
mile hack, and they would meet him in council the next 
day. lie did so, and we encamped for the night on the 
groiuid which they had pointed out. Our troops consisted 
of one regiment of United States troops, 450 strong ; three 
troops of horse, amounting to 120 men; twO' companies of 
mounted riflemen and ahout 800 militia on foot. The 
enemy were said to be 700 warriors. The night was dark 
and rainy. At half past four in the morning the Indians 
connnenced their attack by shooting down our sentinels, 
after which they raised the warwhoop and made a violent 
onset ; they attempted to force our lines. Our men one and 
all behaved with great spirit. The battle lasted four hours 
and five minutes. It is said to be the hardest battle that 
has l)een fought since the revolution. We had fifty-four 
men killed and 125 wounded, together with a great many 
horses. During the action the Indians drove off forty-six 
head of beef cattle, which was all we had. At daylight 
the Indians retreated and left us to bury our dead and to 
take care of the wounded, which took up a whole day. We 
had the satisfaction of finding in and around our camp 
fifty-four Indians killed and saw trails of blood wdiere a 
great luunber had been carried olf during the action. On 
the 8tli we reconnoitered the town of the Indians and found 
they had fled and left an immense quantity of com, beans, 
.kettles, guns, and a variety of other things, all of which 



]s-> HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

we (IcsiroM'd, c.xc*'!"! \\li;ii \\;i^ iiei'i>Miry for the army. We 
then Inirned the town, which consisted of abont two hun- 
dred houses. On the 9th we took u\> the line of march for 
home, and arrived at tliis jdace on the ITtli, safe, and 
sound, and unluirt. 

"I never in my life felt so grrateful t«» Providence as the 
morning after the battle. A <rreat many halls passed very 
near me; they appeared to Ix^ like a shower of hail. Sev- 
eral men were shot about me and a great many of my in- 
timate acquaintances were killed on the spot. The yells 
of the savages and the groajis of the dying were truly <lis- 
tressing. 

"I am in haste, our town is (juite in a Inistlc and I have 
not time to add more. dOlIX I ). 11 A^".'' 

When the Preslntorian Church was organized here in 
1806 he became one of its first elders. 

Subsequent to the loss of his children he was blc*ssed 
with three other children — Mary Ann, born in 1815, who 
married Doctor Josei)li Maddox, a physician of Vincennes, 
eax'h of whom died early; Nancy Ann, bom in 1817, mar- 
ried John W. ^faddox, the latter a prominent merchant 
(succei'ding his father-in-law) and a stanch church mem- 
l>er, (lying in March, ISTU ; and George Dutheld llay, who 
was a prominent merchant in Vincennes many years, but 
who remove<l to Philadelphia, where he died in September, 
lSOr», leaving one son, IlenrA' Gurley Hay, a prominent 
banker and linancier of Cheyenne, Wyo. The relict of ^fr. 
Maddox died in February, 1902, aged eighty-five years, in 
Chester, Pa., leaving only one daughter, Mrs. Sarah Tlay 
Vance, relict of thr hitc Ki-\it<-ii(1 .T.mcph Vance ( who was 



OLD VINCENNES. 183 

a wortliy pastor of Vincennes Presbyterian Church for 
many years), now a resident of Cheyenne, Wyo. 

The old Hay building stood on the corner of First and 
JMain streets, the site of the old American Hotel, which 
gave way to the La Plante Hotel of today. 

NATHANIEL EWING. 

Nathaniel Ewing, the subject of this sketch, was born 
April 10, 1772, in Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Na- 
thaniel Ewing, was bom in Colerain County, Ireland, and 
emigrated to America to escape persecution in 1725. His 
father emigrated to Pennsylvania and died there in 1785. 
His son, Nathaniel Ewing, followed farming and trading 
on the Ohio and Wabash rivers, and his first trip to Vin- 
cennes, with a pirogue loaded with apples, salt, etc., was " 
made in 1788, when he was only sixteen years old, and he 
finally settled here in 1807, having received the appoint- 
ment of Receiver of the Land Ofiice at this place, which 
office he efficiently held through several administrations, 
and until the year 1824. 

He was elected president of the first bank established 
in Vincennes. It was a private institution, but, subse- 
quently, it was adopted with four other banks, and given a 
charter by the Legislature. Like many similar institutions 
in the early daj's of the State, this bank went into liquida- 
tion in 1824. 

Mr. Ewing was engaged, during his early career, in poli- 
tics, having been elected to the Legislature, and was a mem- 
ber when the Territory became a State in 1816. In the 
controversy upon the slavery question, which was then 



isi 



IMsroK'K AL SKETCHES 



iiiiK'li tliscussi'd, lie ('S|H»u.^tHl the cause <>f fr('t'<li>ni. After 

retirement from (tttiee, in lS:i4, to his farm. Mont Clair, 

he spent the remaimlcr of his thivs (piietly until his ilcatli, 
Au<nist «I, 1 "^4(5. 




N \ I MAMH. I W IS(, 



Mr. l-,\\ini: was a iiotahle figure in husiness and social 
lite here, ill the tir>i years of tln' )>asf (MMiturv, ami <X'Ctipie»l 



OLD VINCENNES. 185 

■a leading position as a snccessfnl financier. He married 
Miss Ann Breading* on October 1, 1793. Eight children 
were the result of the union. His eldest daughter, Mary, 
married Doctor William Carr Lane, of St. Louis ; Caroline 
married Doctor Geo. W. Mears, who settled at Indianapo- 
lis ; Rachel, who married Daniel Jencks, of Terre Haute; 
Harriet married James Farrington, of Terre Haute, and 
Sarah married the Honorable John Law, who was a 
prominent attorney and member of Congi*ess from this 
town. His sons were George W. Ewing, who became a 
prominent attorney and banker ; William Ij. Ew^ing, a mer- 
chant, who, in early life, emigi-ated to St. Louis, and be- 
came a prominent and successful financier; and James, 
who occupied the old family mansion until his death. He 
was tlie grandfather of our fellow-citizen, the Honorable 
W. L. Ewing, ex-Mayor of St. Louis, but now occupying, 
'during the summer months, the old family residence, Mont 
Clair, which has been in possession of the family for nearly 
a century. It is situated four miles east of the city, is a 
most beautiful suburban home, and gains in picturesque 
b:'auty under the skillful hand of its present occupant, with 
the passing years, and jiresents an ideal site, embowered 
with forest trees and carpeted Avith swards of blue grass 
for picnicing in the summer days. 

The patriarch of the family lies entoml)ed in the city 
cemetery, but is still represented by thrifty and houored 
venerations. 



186 IIIS'loKli AI, SKKTlIlKS 



NICHOLAS SMH H. 



One of the most notable pt^rsons tlie writer became ac- 
quainted witli wlu'ii lie came to Vinceimcs, more tlian half 
a century ajro, was the subject of this l)rii'f sketch, lie was 
bom in Xew Jersey in September, 1790, ami located in 
Vincennes in 1817, enj^aging in the hardware and tinning 
business, preferring this place to either Cincinnati or St. 
LMiis as one for successful business. His first visit to Cin- 
<'innati was about ISIO, l)ut he returned East; finally set- 
tling in Vincennes. Soon after coming here he was mar- 
ried to Miss Hannah Foster, of Jefferson Coimty, this 
State, !^fr. Smith combined with his business trading he- 
tween this place and New Orleans. He died in ISTl, leav- 
ing six children — Foster and Charles, who engaged in 
business in Teriv Haute; Parmelia, Sarah, John, and Ed- 
ward H. remaining at the old homestead, corner of Fiftii 
an<l Main streets, built in the year 1833. 

Mr. Smith was left an orphan at two vears of age. and 
when little more than a youth started out in the world to 
seek iiis furtunc. The West then offered inducements to 
energi'tic young men, and he soon found himself in the 
business whirl of life. Being a genial man, of good habits, 
and having an extraordinarily retentive memoiy, success 
followeil his business ventures. His sons followed his CiiU- 
ing in Ten-e Haute and Vinc<Mines. and have built up a 
flourishing and profitable trade, retaining the old firm 
name of fifty years ago of N. Smith ic Sons, reminding 
one of the names of firms seen in the Eastern cities, where 
the style of them is tiie same as they were a hundred or 
more years ago, and where the sons have followed (dosely 



OLD yiNCENNES. 



187 



iu the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers. Snch 
families are a credit to their race and city in buikling 
it np and giving eliaracter and prosperity to its general 
bnsiness. 



JOHN WISE. 

Among the honored old citizens of Vincennes mnst b© 
nnnibered Mr. John Wise, born in October, 1796, who was 
conspicuons as an ac- 
tive bnsiness man for 
more than fifty years. 
He was a native of 
Pennsylvania and of 
stanch, patriotic Ger- 
m a n descent. His 
mother lost part of her 
scalp in an Indian raid 
upon the family settle- 
ment. His father and 
mother dying the same 
day, Mr. Wise, being 
the eldest, was left to 
care for the minor chil- 
dren. He came to Vin- 
cennes in 1816, and en- 
gaged in the saddlery 
business, and as he 
prospered he sent, annually, for a member of the fam- 
ily left at the old homestead, until all were brought 
here. His business enlarged, and soon he became con- 
tractor for carrying the United States mails from Lou- 




JOHN WISE, SR. 



188 



IIISTOHICAL SKETCHES 



isvillc, I\v., lo St. Louis, Mo., an«l, f<>ll(>\viu<r tliat, ho en- 
torcd into inercliandizin^ witli his yoiinfrci" brothcfs. Sain- 
iitl ami Williain, tiiuh'r the tii'iii name of J. S. \- \V. J. 
Wi.se, ami athlod to their business ]x>rk packing, mostly for 
the Southern tratle, bv means of flatboats, and after- 
ward steamboats in tlie Xew Orleans trade, ^fr. Wise mar- 
ried Mi-s Ilaimah .Mc('all. of Ivcntuckv; the frtiit of this 
union hcinir .Marv, who niarrieil a merchant, ^Ir. Jedcdiah 
Ilcbcrd, and Ai"ab<'lhi. who marrietl \l. ,] . McKinney, who 
luvame a successful banker and Mayor of the city during 
his can-er, each surviving their husbands to the present 
time. .Mr. Wise ])uivhased the Judge lienjamin Park resi- 




PARK-WISE RESIDEN'CE. SAID TO HAVE BEEN BlU.l IN 1*04- 



OLD VINCENNES. 189 

dence, situated just below the Harrisou mansion, on the 
river, and which, it is said, was buih the same year as the 
latter. He bought it in the earliest years of the past cen- 
tury, and resided in it until his death in 1884. This resi- 
dence, in former days, was a picturesque, as well as a 
stately-looking, building, and is one of the few old houses 
left in the city of a former age. Mrs. Schultz, a florist, now 
ornaments the old garden with beds of beautiful flowers — 
fit tribute, as if in memory of the dead but glorious past ; 
but the building's corridors have ceased to echo back the 
happy voices once vocal in their labyrinths. 

Mr. Wise was a broad, enterprising business man, and 
was honored and respected by all who knew him. He was 
wise enough, as he prospered, to enter large tracts of public 
lands, and left to his heirs many valuable farms in this and 
adjoining counties. He died at the good old age of eighty- 
eight years. 

The Wise family were all notable, stanch business men, 
and some of their worthy descendants still reside in the 
city. 

SAMUEL JUDAH. 

]\rr. Samuel Judah settled in Vincennes early in the 
nineteenth century, and assiduously devoted himself to the 
practice of law, and must be classed as one of its older 
American citizens. He earl}^ rose to distinction as a learned 
and astute attorney, and not many suits were instituted 
in which he did not either represent the plaintiff or de- 
fendant. But his fame as a successful lawyer Avas not alto- 
gether local, as clients from other States sought his legal 
opinions. But, probably, the greatest triumph he ever 



!;•(» 



IllsrolJU AL SKKTCllKS 



acliic'vod in forensic debate was in the case of The Uni- 
versity of Vincennes vs. the State of Indiana, and it is 
verv doubtful if this institution would be now in existence 
had it not been fur liis shrewdness, indomitable energy and 




SAMl KI. JLDAH. 



his I'xceljeiii :iit;iiimients in leiral lore. The State had ar- 
bitrarily, and without \v^i\\ right, sold the lands belonging 
to the University, and had appropriated the proceeds of 
tlie sales. Suit eoidil not l>e instituted against the State 



OLD VmCENNES. 191 

for the recovery of the property without the permission of 
the Legislature. Mr. Judah procured the passage of a bill 
granting this authority, the suit was brought in Marion 
County, and the trial resulted in a verdict for the Univer- 
sity. An appeal was taken by the State to the Supreme 
Court, which reversed the verdict of the lower court. Mr. 
Judah then appealed the case to the Supreme Court of 
the United States. In this last tribunal he was victorious. 
Before this the State tried to show, by various ways and 
schemes, that the charter of the University had lapsed, and 
employed six of the most noted members of the Indiana 
bar to accomplish this result ; but they were defeated on 
every point. This contest presented the most crucial test 
of Mr. Judah's legal abilities possible, and he emerged 
from it with the highest honors. He was learned outside 
of the law, and maintained his love for science and the 
classics during his long career. He was a man of aesthetic 
tastes, as was manifested in his efforts to advance agricul- 
ture and floriculture. Having selected and purchased a 
piece of land two miles east of the to\vn, susceptible topo- 
gi'aphically of rare possibilities in art improvement, he 
proceeded to lay the foundation for a beautiful suburban 
home of rare picturesqueness. He not only preserved the 
forests in their nascent state, but added to their stock trees 
and shrubs from other localities. Happily the homestead 
has been kept intact by his son, the Honorable ISToble B. 
Judah, a prominent attorney of Chicago, under whose 
skillful and vigilant eye it has been transformed into one of 
the most beautiful and picturesque country residences in 
the county. 



VJ2 lllS'|()i;i( Al. SKETCHES 

^Ir. .ludali was l»orii in tho ( itv oi Niw V<>rk in 1798^ 
and was <»f distinpiislied parents, who emigrated to Amer- 
ica in IT.'.O, and espoused the cause of the patriots in the 
Ilevuhition. He settled in Vineennes in 1818, and was 
married to ^liss Harriet Brandon, of Corvdon, Ind., in 
182.'). He was lionore«l bv tlie citizens of Knox County 
witli a scat in the Lej^ishiture in 1828, l83G-38-:i'.t and 
1S40. He died at Vineennes in 1800. Mrs. Judah's family 
was no less distinguished than her hushand's, having 
sj)rung from patriotic rev(dutionarv ancestors. Mr. Judah 
had six chiMren tu arrive at maturity, to wit: ( "aroline^ 
the wife of Dr. dohn 11. .Mantel: Catherine, tlu- wife of 
Genera] Lazarus XoMc. itoth now deeease<l, and the present 
living ones — Alice, the widnw of the late Franklin Clarke; 
Samuel J^, l)e]»uty Internal Revenue Collector for this 
district: John M., a j>rominent attorney of Indianapolis, 
and Xohle 13., a distinguished attorney and politician of 
( hicago. 

JERF.MI.AH L. COLEMAN. 

One among the early settlers in Vineennes, who helped 
to Ittiild it up, is the subject of this sketch. 

lie was bom in England in 1788, and, emigrating to 
tliis coniitry, lamiccl in \'inccniu's in IMl. He was a 
trailer, and engaged in general merchandizing, and at first 
lM>ught his g<K)ds at I*ittsburgh and brought them here by 
boat. With his first stock of goods he started Avith a crew 
who, after bringing the l)oat up the Wabash River as far as 
the mouth <»f Embarrass River, hearing <d' the battle of 
Tippe«'aniH', after taking it uj) that stream a few miles, 



OLD VINCENNES. 193 

left Mr. Coleman and fled to Vincennes through fear of 
the Indians. 

While on one of his trading trips to Pittsburgh after 
goods he married Miss Elizabeth Nichols, and brought her 
to his Western home. Mr. Coleman was a man of remark- 
able genius and skill, and soon turned his attention to va- 
rious kinds of business. Among others was that of a mill- 
wright, and he built a mill, probably the first in the town, 
about where the present gas works stand, and it Avas there 
as late as 1855. About the time Mr. Coleman abandoned 
milling he built a little steamer and named it after his 
daughter Amanda, who became the wife of our worthy 
fellow-citizen, Mr. Charles Methesie, and is yet living. 
His residence, when the writer knew him, was a two-story 
frame house that stood on Main street, adjoining the city 
hall lot, where the drug store of H. Watjen now stands. 

Several brothers came to this place about the same time 
Mr. Coleman did, and William, a prominent man, man-ied 
the late William Burteh's sister; but he was lost with a 
trading boat of produce between Vincennes and ^Sl'ew Or- 
leans, leaving a wife and daughter, the latter an estimable 
lady, the present Mrs. Caroline Lusk. Her widowed 
mother married Captain John D. Martin, who held many 
official positions during the early years of Territorial Gov- 
ernment of Indiana. 

Besides Mrs. jMethesie, Mr. Coleman leaves behind him, 
yet living. Captain John T. Coleman, who valiantly 
answered his countiw's call during the early part of the 
Civil War, and served through it. During his service he 
contracted a disease from which he is disabled from active 
business. 

[13] 



lit I IIISTOlUrAL SKKTrilKS 

Mr. .Iiiciiiiali L. (olonian died Februarv 5, 1865, loav- 
ini: Ktliiml liiiii :i .s]K>tless record fi>r lionesty and jjnod citi- 
zen slii p. 

JOHN LAW. 

Anionii I lit- liriulii vnnnir New Knjjlan<lers who niip-attMl 
to tlic West in tlie early part of the nineteenth centurv 
was tlic hite dudire John Law, wlio l)ocanie a resident of 
X'incenni's; in InIT. The accpiisition of the great North- 
west Territory aii<l the cstablislinient of its capital here 
drew some of the lu-ainiest, l)est educated men from their 
Ka.-^tern homes to tliis town. Tontention for fame and 
honor jtroduced a rivah'v worthy of enudation, and, as the 
fittest survive enniju'tiiion only, the niee<l of praise is due 
the subject (»f this sketch, since he became the recipient of 
pul)lic fav<»rs sehh»m excee<led by po]>ular favor. His 
natural and lejral ability, his genial disposition, suavity of 
manner, ready wit and bonhoinie made him a general favor- 
ite with the people, the source of all power; no wonder, 
then, that he was honored by his fellow-citizens. His legal 
lore .'<oon elevate<l him to the l>ench, where he presided with 
<lignity an<l rare discrimination in balancing the scales of 
justice. 

He was United States Commissioner to adjust land 
titk« in this district, but never filled the office of Receiver 
of Public Moneys for this land district, as some have as- 
serte<l, as will be seen from the list of said officers given 
elsewhere. 

The manifest evidences of statesmanship in due time 
caused his elevation to Congress from this district : he was 



OLD VINCENNES. 195 

subsequently elected to the same office and proved himself 
a valuable and influential member. He married Miss 
Sarah Ewing, daughter of Honorable E'athaniel Ewing. 
In hiter life he removed to Evansville and died there, 
October 7/1873. 

Judge LaAv Avas a fluent and graceful writer and gained 
a national reputation for his contributions to the Colonial 
history of the Territory of Indiana, and especially of this 
city. His son, the Honorable Edward Law, of Evansville, 
survives the father. 

WILLIAM BURTCH. 

In relation to the early settlers of Vincennes, no one 
is more fruitful of interesting incidents than the subject 
of this sketch. He was born in Rutland, Vt., in 1793, and 
losing his father, he being then the head of the family, 
left in indigent circumstances, determined to seek his for- 
tune in the great West, and arrived with his mother and 
several sisters and a brother in Cincinnati, O., in 1811. 
The Indian War detained him there until 1814, when he 
and family arrived in Vincennes. 

]\Ir. Burtch was small of stature, but was remarkably 
versatile in intellect, and although his education was lim- 
ited, he early demonstrated his aptitude in the transaction 
of business. Starting with a very small capital, his atten- 
tion to business and strict integrity and thrift soon placed 
him in the front rank of the business men of the town. But 
in a few years his strict attention to business made inroads 
upon his constitution, and his health giving way he sought 
respite in the country and built the large, fine residence. 



19«; IlISTOKK AL SKETCIIKS 

for those davs (alxmt ls2r)) three miles east of the to^vn 
(now owned bv tlie widow Enjison), an<l a little rural life 
so restorcnl his health that he retunied to his inereaiitile 
business, aii'l he then built a tine residence »ni rlic half 
scpiare on the site of ,Mr. B. Kuhn's residence, corner of 
Fourth and Jiuntin streets. Mr. Jhirtch engag:ed in trad- 
ing South, as well as merchandizing:, and was soon ac- 
counted the wealthiest man in the count v. He was public 
spirited and did as much as any man in the town to ad- 
vance its {j^eneral interests, and early became a factor in all 
that was calculated to elevate the people morally, socially 
and intellectually. Early he became a member of the 
Presbyterian Church and was its steadfast supporter; a 
memb(»r of the Board of the Vincennes University, and 
became its treasurer and held the office until he retired 
from business on account of his detdinintr years, lie was 
also an officer in the old State Bank of Indiana as lonj; as 
it existed. 

Besides the buildings named he erected a business block 
at the c<»rner of First and .Main streets, oppisite the old 
American Hotel, the present site of the La Planle Hotel. 
But Mr. II\irtch's ]>rosj)erity failed him in liis declining 
years through the lack of correct methods of his ])artners 
in b\isiness and loss by the payment of security debts for 
friends who failed in business, and he died comparatively 
a poor man. 

Mr. Burtch's first wife was .Nfiss ^fargaret Hanna, by 
whom he leaves one daughter living, ^Irs. Lansing Heberd, 
of Evansville. By the second wife, Mrs. Eunice Ilanna 
I >oeker, two (laughters survive him, ^Irs. ^fargaret 
M<-Laughlin. of Pennsvlvania, and Mrs. Laura Lewis, of 



OLD VINCENNES. 197 

Indianapolis. One of his sisters married Mr. William Cole- 
man, the father of Mrs. Caroline Lusk, now residing in 
this city; he dying, she married Captain John D. Martin. 
Another sister married Wm. J. Heberd, for a long time a 
leading merchant of this city. Members of the family 
still reside here and in Terre Haute. 

He died about the year 1880, honored and beloved by 
all who knew him. 

ANDREW GARDNER. 

Alwut the year 1816, Vincennes received many substan- 
tial citizens from the East, they anticipating Horace 
Greeley's advice, given at a later period, to young men to 
''■go West and grow up with the country" ; and Andrew 
Gardner, the father of our worthy fellow-citizen, Elbridge 
Gardner, was one of the many enterprising young men to 
seek a home here at that period, 1816. He was bom in 
Springfield Mass., in 1792, where he learned the cabinet 
business. He arrived here in advance of his wife, Hanna 
Gardner, nee Hanna Swift, who was born in Camden, N. 
J., in 1799. 

He l)egan business in a frame building on Third street, 
near and south of Main, about where Thuis' pop establish- 
ment now stands. In those days all furniture was made 
by hand, the undertaker's business being combined with it ; 
and for many years it was a valuable calling. 

JMr. Gardner was prominent in bus-iness, church ami 
Masonic circles, and the author has often had the pleasure 
of sitting with him at fraternal gatherings. He was a 
valual)le and stanch member of the Methodist church. 
When his oldest son, Elbridge, the head of the present 



198 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

undertaker's establishment of Gardner & Sons, arrived at 
manhood, the firm was changed to that name, and the 
father in a few years retired from business on account of 
advanced age. He died during the year 1860, his wife 
preceding him a few years to her resting place in the city 
cemeterj'. Andrew Gardner was honored and love<l by 
all who knew him. 

LEWIS L. WATSON. 

The recent death of Mr. Watson tells the living that 
one more link in the chain that connects the past long gone 
to the present ha.s l)een broken, leaving l)eliind only two 
living persons in this city bom as early as 1810, ^Ir. Vital 
Bouchie and Mrs. Elizabeth Andre. 

Mr. Watson was bom April 13, 1809, in the village of 
Vinconnes ; his cann^r has l>een a checkered one, but his tire- 
less energ}' and business foresight have sen'ex^^l him well 
and always kept him advancing to tiic front. In his youth- 
ful days he and ^Ir. Bouchie footed it to St. Louis and he- 
came^ apprentices to the tailoring business. In after years 
he returne<l to Vincennes and, forming a partnership with 
the late Samuel K. 1 )iiiiii, opened a tailoring establishment. 

lie marrie<l Miss Lydia Fellows, daughter of Caj^tain 
I.ouis Fellows, wjio JKiiJt the large grist and sawmill C4dled 
the Wliiic Mill, on the site of the west end of Harrison 
Park. A distillery was subsequently attached to it. lie 
continued in the tailoring business until 1849. 

Mr. Watson tille<l many oftices of trust. lie receive<l the 
ap]M»intment under President Taylor of Postmaster at this 
plaCe in ls49, and held the same until 1853, when he re- 
eeivcd ilic ;ip])(iintment of collector, at the dam of the 



OLD VINCENNES. 199 

"Wabash ISTavigation Company at the grand rapids. He 
subsequently served as passenger conductor of the E. & 
T. H. R. R. Co., after which he became their agent at Vin- 
cennes. A^^iile acting in this capacity he and the late 
Charles Dawes conducted a lumber yard. Leaving this 
business he became fuel agent of the O. & M. R. R., which 
place he resigTied to commence hotel business with the late 
Captain Isaac Mass, and subsequently built the Union 
Depot hotel, which is still conducted by his son, Mr. 
Edward Watson. Some years ago he retired from active 
business and died recently at the good old age of 93 years, 
dying in May, 1902. 

Mr. Watson left behind him five living children, Mrs. 
Jane Reynolds and Mr. Edward Watson of this city ; Mrs. 
Ida McDonald, of New York; Mr. William Watson, of 
Aurora, 111., and Mr. Robert Watson, of Terre Haute. 

JOHN MOORE. 

One of the early settlers of Vincemies was the Honorable 
John Moore. He was a native of Virginia and born in the 
town of Staunton in the year 1788. At an early age he 
became a citizen of Vincennes and may have participated 
in Harrison's campaign against the Prophet at the battle- 
of Tippecanoe, but there seems to be no positive evidence 
existing to that effect ; the records of the Territorial Execu- 
tive proceedings show, however, that on May 16, 1812,, 
he was appointed an ensign in the first regiment of the- 
Indiana militia. After his service in the Territorial 
Army he assumed the occupation of contractor and builder 
and he had much to do with the erection of the old court- 
house, town hall, Episcopal church, and many others, be- 



'^>(M) IIISTOKR'AL SKKTCHKS 

sifh-s his own lar^c hrick rcsidciic'c, now one of the-oldest 
Ituihlini^s in the city. He tillctl niniiv offices of tni>t. hav- 
ing been .Indjre of the first Prohjite ( unrt, President of the 
lioard of Trnstees of tlie l>oron<j;h from 1820 to 182.'i, was 
a director in the Vincennes branch of the old State Bank of 
Indiana, and tiUed other p«)sitions of trust in the citv with 
ability and to tiie satisfaction of his constituents. He rr- 
ceived the appointment of I'ostnuister at this city underthe 
admiiiisi ration of j'l-oidcnt J^uchanaii in l^.")!!, aii<l servc(l 
until his sueeessor was apjx)inted in 18G1. 

lie died 1 )eceml)er 2.*J, 18(54, leaviui; his consort and two 
children, yet livins;, Mrs. Ella Smith, wife of Mr. E. II. 
Smith, a worthy irenth'inan of this city, and Mrs. W. II. 
( 'hailwick. of ( hcstcr. Pa. 

cvRTs Mccracken allen. 

In coiiiMK iiciiii: I" write of ()1<1 \'incciiiics it was in- 
tended to deal with matters occurring; only previous to the 
latter half of the nineteenth century, hut as a link should 
he left hetwe<'n Old and New Vincennes, so that the thread 
l>etwe«Mi the pa>i and ])rcscnt may he taken up hy some fu- 
ture histiu'ian, the writer knows of no titter character to 
perform that office than the subject of this sketch, and his 
name will be in(duded in the present volume. 

Cyrus McCracken Allen was born in ('lark county. Ky., 
April 2, 1817, of revolutionary ancestry, and was reare*! 
to maiduMnl on his fathers farm, when he entere<l the mer- 
camtile business with his elder brother. While thus en- 
irap'd he conunenc(*d the study of law and tinally (piit his 
st«»re to enter the law department of the Transylvania Uni- 
versity, Lexinjrton, Ky.,from which hegraduate<l about the 



OLD VINCENNES. 



201 



year 1837, soon after which he married ]\[iss Mary Lander, 
daughter of Mrs. Kancy Lander, in 1838, proprietress of 
the Winchester hotel, and set his face westward to find a 
home. Llis first stop was at Paoli, Ind., 1811, whence he 
drifted to Petersbnrg, Ind. He came to Vincennes in 
1844. He soon became a leading" member (if the bar here. 
His genial disposition and faculty of forming acquaint- 
ances was such that 
he soon became 
exceedingly popular 
with the masses. His 
knowledge of la w 
was great, and his 
retentive m e m o r y 
served him to great 
account, as he could, 
with alacrity, refer 
to decisions and ad- 
duce points of law, 
when his conferees 
for the same matter 
had to delve into the 
tomes of the law at 
the expense of time. 

In the days of the Whig party he was a stanch member 
of the same, but when the Ltepublican party had its birth, 
he l)ecame affiliated with it, and formed a close alliance 
with Abraham Lincoln, with whom he was a personal 
friend ; and was one of the first to advocate his nomination 
to the Presidency in the old Vincennes Gazette; and for 
which aid and friendship Mr. Lincoln, after he became 




COLONEL C. M. ALLEN. 



202 IIIS'KdMCAL SKI-.Ti MRS 

President, intimated that he could have ahnost any office 
desired in his gift ; but, with thanks, he declined to accept 
any. lie was twice elected to the L^islature and was 
elected Speaker of the House one session, lie was the nom- 
inee of the Republican party in 1866 for Congress, but was 
defeatcil l>y the Honorable W. E. Niblack, the district 
l)eing overwhelmingly DemcHM'atic, and many of the Re- 
publicans l)eing away in the army. In the beginning of 
the Civil War he was a powerful factor in raising the first 
regiments in this city and county to go to the fi*ont. 

Having lost his consort, he married Miss Sarah Lander^ 
who survives him. But it was in his relation t<t the city of 
X'iiiccniH's, in a commercial and material way, that endear 
him i)articularly with the people. He was one of the fore- 
most in all the enteri)rises that promised the city prosperity. 
He became a factor as advocate in the building of the O. & 
M., v.. iV r. 11., Mild (^airo Railroads. Wlmt money he 
made in these eiit('r|)rises he did not invest in stocks or 
bonds, but j)ut it into houses, to aid in building uj) the city. 
He built the first large brick railway depot at the head of 
Se<'ond, reaching to Water street, and adjaivnt liouses, 
including the Slinkard residence and some business houses 
on Second stre<'t. P>esi«les these he built the liriek c<tttages 
<m Seventh stre<'t, Itefweeii I*en-v and Seuiiiiarv, ami the 
large two-story frame house that once occupie<l the corner 
of Sixth and Sjielby streets, and others not now remera- 
here<l l>y the writer. He purchasetl the Ronner ^fansion, 
corner Fifth and Main stre<'ts. He was several times a 
niemlier of the city coimcil and aideil that b»xly with his 
fund of knowledge and matureil judgment; was a member 
of the Hoard of I'niversitv Tnistees and lent his influence 



OLD VINCENNES. 



303 



in wresting' from the State its ill-gotten funds taken from 
that institution. 

Soon after the close of the war his health commenced 
failing and he became incompetent to resume his law 
practice, having given it up for railroad enterprises and 
politics ; and ere long he was numbered with the heroes and 
worthy men of a past generation. 

Had all the citizens of Vincennes possessed the push, 
benevolence and enterprise of Colonel Allen, the city 
could boast a population of 50,000 people. 

Of his children only two survive: Ex-Lieutenant Cyrus 
M. Allen, Jr., L^nited States Anny, and Louis Allen. 



Chapter IX. 

SOCIETIES— MASONIC. 

TWK tirst ItMljM^cof Vivv Mnsi\u< instituted in the groat 
West was at Vincennes, Mareli 13, 1809, under a 
dispensation issued bv the Grand Tx>dge of tlie State 
i.f Keiitnokv. A dispensation was issue<l Aucrust 27, ls<>7, 
hilt owing to untoward eireninst^mees tlie hrethren of the 
craft here then could not avnil themselves of its ])rovisions 
Iw'fore the term for which it was issu(Ml had exi>ire<]. A 
second one, upon application, was granted Septemiier 1, 
180.S, and a hwlge was organized under it ^larcli 12, 1S09. 
The following mend)ers were j)resent ai liiis organization, 
to wit: Jonathan Taylor, P. M., of Ahraham Lodge, Xo. 
S; J(.hn Caldwell, \V. M., late of Union Lo<lge^ Xo. 1»2 ; 
Charles Fisher. W. M.. late of Bro\\nisville Tx>dge, Xo. (50; 
John (lihson. !• . ( ., of Lancaster, Pa.. Lodge; llenrv Van- 
derU'rg. W. M., Army Traveling Lcnlge, Xew York. John 
(Jihson. !•". ( '., was raist^l to the degi'ee of a ^faster. The 
tirst applicants for mendx'rship were Pannenas Beckes, 
William Prince, John Duffield Hay and llezekiah Brad- 
ley, r. S. A., on the 17th day of March, 1S09, when they 
all t<iok the K. A. degree. To Pannenas Beckes Ixdongs the 
honor of Ix'coniing the first initiated in the Indiana Terri- 
tory, rnforfunattdy a little time after this he came to an 
untimely end through a duel. Captain Beckes heard of a 
rejiort reflecting on the honor of his step-daughter, a dash- 

-JIM— 



OLD VINCENNES. 205 

ing and accomplished girl, einanatiiig from Dr. Scull, and 
immediately called him to account. The doctor admitted 
that he had said : "If she is as good as she is pretty, she is 
a jewel." A duel resulted from the altercation, in which 
the Captain lost his life. All honor is due our deceased 
brother for the vindication of the honor of his family ! jSTo 
man dies in a better cause. The false code of honor 
brought on the sad catastrophe. 

The Vincennes Lodge, at its first institution, was num- 
bered 15, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the 
State of Kentucky. When Indiana Territory was organ- 
ized into a State, the Vincennes Lodge took the initiatory 
step looking to the organization of a Grand Lodge, and 
called a meeting at Cor^^don, July IT, 1817 ; the local lodge 
being represented by General W. Johnson. This conven- 
tion took the initial steps toward the organization of the 
Grand Lodge, and adjourned to meet again at Madison, 
January 12, 181S. At the Madison convention this lodge 
was represented by Captain Benjamin V. Beckes, and 
upon an organization being effected, the Captain was 
elected Grand Junior Warden. He surrendered the char- 
ter of Vincennes Lodge, Xo. 15, to the Grand Lodge of the 
State of Kentucky, and received in its stead the new char- 
ter of Vincennes Lodge, ISTo. 1, dated January 13, 1818, 
under the Grand Lodge of the Territory of Indiana. Gen- 
eral W^. Johnson was appointed proxy of the Grand 
Master, by the Grand Lodge, to institute the new Vin- 
cennes Lodge, which duty he formally performed on Janu- 
ary 1, 1818, installing the following officers: Elihu 
Stout, W. M. ; John B. Drennon, S. W. ; John Decker, J. 
•W. ; Heniy Ruble, Treasurer ; Volney T. Bradley, Secre- 
tary; Jacob Catt, S. D., and H. Dubois, J. D. 



206 TIISTOKirAT. SKETCHES 

Among the iiiijM.rtaiii events enniieete<l with the early 
historv of Vincenues J.ndjre was a visit hv tlie (Irand 
Master of the Grand L<»dge of the State of Kentucky, 
Colonel Joseph 11. Davies. He presided at the meetings of 
the lodge on the 18th, 10th and 21st days of Sei)teniher, 
1811, and conferred the second and third degi'ees upon 
many of the hrethren, which work was pmhahly the last 
lodge work of this distinguished Mason and s<»ldier. He 
was then in conniiand of a corps of m<)unte<l rangers, on 
their way to help the Indiana tr(M)ps under (lovernor 
Harris(tn, who was preparing U) settle the Indian cpiestion 
with the Prophet, Tecuraseh's hroilier. At the l>attle of 
Tij)pecanoe he was kille*! in leading a hrilliant charge on 
his savage foes. With him fell Thomas lvandol])h and 
Colonel Isaac White, hoth memhers of Vincennes Lcxlge, 
and for whf>ni the lodge mendK^rs wore crepe for thiity days 
in token of their sorrow for their patriot hrethren. If the 
memhers of the ^Masonic T-Kxlge distinguishe<l themselves 
as patriots upon the field of battle in l>ehalf of their coun- 
try, those in the civil walks of life were none the less fa- 
mous, (leneral W. Johnson, the founder of Vincennes 
Loilge, a native of the State of Virginia, was one of the 
most distinguished memlK'i-s of the Order. He was the 
first attoniey-at-law admitted to jjractice lH'f(»re the Terri- 
torial bar; was the first postnuister of the Northwest 
Territory, which embraced Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois 
and ^fichigan. He was Auilitor of Indiana Territory 
in 181.*>; was aft^'rwards connnissioned Treasurer, which 
office he held until a Stat^' Government was fonne<l in 
181(5. He ami .ioim Kice Jones compiled the first revision 
of the laws of Indiana, which was l)ound and piddished in 



OLD VIXCENXES. 207 

this city by Eliliii Stout, who was at the time conducting 
The Wesiern Sun. He was several times elected Legislator 
and was chairman of a committee to give answer to a peti- 
tion of the pro-slavery element of the population of the 
Territory, who memorialized Congress to legalize slavery 
in the Territory. This committee advised against said 
grant and the whole subject was then and there buried 
forever. 

Colonel Thomas H. Blake, a member of this lodge, was 
prominent in militaiy circles, and became a member of 
Congress, and Alexander Buckner, another member, was 
'Grand Master of the State in 1818, and after emi- 
■grating to the State of Missouri he became a member of 
the United States Senate from that State. John Gibson, 
another mendier, was a distinguished citizen and was Sec- 
retary, by appointment, at the same time that General 
Harrison was appointed Governor of the Territory, from 
the State of Pennsylvania, by Thomas Jefferson. He ar- 
rived here in July, 1800, and in the absence of Governor 
Harrison (who did not reach here until January, 1801), 
he set about organizing the Territory, it having been cre- 
ated an independent one. He continued his duties until 
1812, when he then became Governor, ex-officio, after Har- 
rison's resignation, and held the office until Thomas Posty 
became Governor in 1813, when he again assumed the du- 
ties of Secretary, and held that office until the State was 
admitted into the Union in 1816. Governor Gibson re- 
tired from office with the love and esteem of all the factions 
then in the Territoiy, having kept aloof from all entang- 
ling alliances that might hinder him from dealing out 
justice to all citizens alike. 



208 IllSTOIJirAL SKKTCIIES 

Benjamin Vincennee Beckes, who is said to have been 
the fii*st native born citizen of tliis town in ITi^G, was of 
Aniorican parentage, a soldier at tlie battle of Tippecanoe, 
and fonunandcd a conipanv in the Black Hawk War; he 
was a rnenilKM- several times of the Territorial Leg:islature, 
was electe<l t\nce as sheriflF and was generally ix>]>nlar with 
the people. 

Waller Taylor was elected by the first session of the 
State Legislature as a United States Senator from Indiana, 
lie was also a Major in Harrison's army at the battle of 
Tippecanoe. The gallant John Davies and Thomas Ran- 
dolph, who fell in this battle, were, under the direction of 
Taylor, buried side by side ; and he took a pin from Kan- 
dnlph's bosom, clipped a lock of his hair, and transmitted 
thom to Randolph's wife; he also cut the initials of the 
dead s(»ldiers' names upon a tree beside the grave S(» that it 
might be known, should occasion occur, to locate and re- 
move the bodies. 

Thomas Randol])li, Imh-ii at Roanoke. Va., who fell in 
this same battle, was Attorney-CJenerai of tlu^ Territory, 
having been a)>pointe(l by (lovernor Harrison. 

William Prince, anotjicr member, was a representative 
in Congress, and a member of tlie committee wliidi located 
the capitol at Indianapolis. 

Kliliu Stout, who was Grand ^Master of the Grand Lo<lge 
of the State in 1827, was lx)ni in Newark, X. .1.. April 16, 
17>"J, and emigrated to I^exington, Ky., when (|uite young; 
learned the printer's trade and came to Vincennes in 1S04, 
an<l issued the first newsr>a]ier in the Northwest, July 4 of 
that year, called the Indiana Gazette. He was one of the 
able men of the new empire just forming. A furtlicr notice 
of him will be found in the press .•u'ticlc. 



OLD VmCENNES. 209 

Henry Vanderburgh was a Captain in the regular army 
in the Revolutionary War and became a member of the 
Legislative council of the Northwest Territory, appointed 
bv President Adams, in 1779, and was elected president of 
the council. He was subse(]^uently one of the Territorial 
judges and Vanderburgh county was named after him. He 
Avas the grandfather of our fellow townsman, Mr. Harry 
V. Somes, Sr. 

Robert Buntin was a Captain of the United States 
Army and participated in the Indian Wars of the ISTorth- 
west. He was Clerk and Surveyor of this county and 
Buntin street was named in honor of him. He married 
Mary Shannon, the heroine of Maurice Thompson's ro- 
mance, "Alice of Old Vincennes." 

Robert Evans was a Territorial attorney, a member of 
the State Legislature, and a General in the Territorial 
Army. 

Ephriam Jordan was a distinguished officer in the War 
of 1812 ; and he and two other magistrates, James Johnson 
and Antoine Marichall, laid off the first township in 1801, 
and many others of equal distinction to the foregoing might 
be mentioned, who were Masons and who played an im- 
portant part in the early settlement of Indiana Territory. 
Lack of space only renders it necessary for the writer to 
forego the pleasure of any further detailed mention in the 
way of individual recognition. 

Vincennes Lodge, 'No. 1, remodeled, refitted and re- 
furnished its hall in the most sumptuous, commodious and 
magnificent manner, Avitli storage, kitchen and banquet 
attachments, and where all the fraternity, from Command- 
ery to Blue Lodge, find delightful homes. There is none 

[14] 



210 iiis'i-oincAi. ski:t(Iiks 

superior to ir in the Statf. It \v:is dcdicaU'il on Ascension 
Day in May, lst»!», wlicii ail joiiiinir IcMlires ))articipat»'il 
in the work, and at the l»an(i\i('t, the following song of wel- 
come was written by the anthor and used on the occasion: 

WELCOME SONG. 

Wek-nnit', Kniglits, witli lieart and hand, 

From thi' country, far and near. 
Coming as a joyous ])and, 

Liki' Judoan pil>;rini-seer, 
Who, in parnicnts travel-worn, 

Looking; for a star to .shine, 
Wlien tlie Saviour sliould be bom. 

First might worsliip at His Slirine. 

Lo! He came, and meekly died. 

To redeem mankind and save ; 
On a cross was cnacilied. 

And was hiid witliin a grave. 
But in trium])li He arose 

Upward to His tlirone to reign: 
For, tliongli mnrderi'd by His foes, 

He came not to earth in vain. 

Let all peoi)le jmii.ses .sing; 

And ye lio.sts, angelic, give 
Adonition to our King, 

Sacrificed tliat we might live. 
Yes, sweet anthems sound abroad, 

And l)ring forth rich diadem 
For the Chri.st, our risen Lord, 

Blessed star of Bethlchtni. 

.Masonry, from its establishment in Vincennes, has been 
aniaironized to a greater extent than in most to^\^ls; never- 
theless it has gi'own and will continue to grow, ever exert- 
iner a wholesome influence when opportunity offers. Being 
non-sectarian and having for its foundation the principles, 



OLD VINCENNES. 211 

equality, brotherly love and charity, and being governed 
by a patriotic devotion to country, under divine guidance, 
it has kept apace with the passing years, and no earthly 
power can stay its progTess. The present officers of Blue 
Lodge, Xo. 1, are Edward Bierhaus, W. M. ; W. C. Kelly, 
S. W. ; E. E. Tindolph, J. W. ; J. T. Boyd, Treasurer ; C. L. 
Haughton, Secretary ; E. H. Buck, S. D. ; W. H. Weed, 
J. D. ; E. D. Eoulks, T. ; membership 124. Vincennes 
Chapter, No. 7, was instituted May 20, 1857 ; membership 
70. Vincennes Council, jSTo. 9, was instituted May 20, 
1857; membership 44. Vincennes Commandery, No. 20, 
was instituted Eebruary 8, 18(59, with the following char- 
ter members: Gardiner H. Plummer, Samuel B. Dunn, 
John T. Freeland, John Kyger, Albert Hayward, W. E. 
Pidgeon, Hubbard M. Smith, James R. Baird, Charles 
Temple and A. J. Colburn. The following are the present 
officers : G. W. Donaldson, E. C. ; E. J. Julian, General ; 
H. J. Eoulks, C. G. ; DeLou Burke, Prelate; C. L. Haugh- 
ton, S. W. ; E. E. Tindolph, J. W. ; J. T. Boyd, Treasurer ; 
G. W. McCoy, Eecorder ; W. H. Weed, S. T. ; O. M. Willis, 
S. B. ; W. M. Gilmore, W. ; E. D. Eoulks, S. ; membership 
seventy-two. 

ODD FELLOWSHIP. 

The Independent Order of Odd Eellows is a fraternal, 
benevolent and social institution, and has exerted a good 
influence in this comnumity. Wabash Lodge, Xo. 20, I. 
O. O. E., was instituted by dispensation Eebruary 5, 1845, 
and was regiilarly chartered October 20, 1845. The char- 
ter members were: William ISTewell, T. Lemk, A. C. 
Listen, Isaac X. Coleman, Jacob Dunkle and John LI. Mas- 



212 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

Bey. The first officers Avere : Theophilus Lemk, P. G. ; 
Isaac X. Culeniau, X. G. ; John H. Massey, V. G. ; Will- 
iam Xewell, Secretary; Jacob Dunkle, Treasurer; Aaron 
Foster, Wanleu. The first initiations were S. W. Draper 
and John W. ( "annon. In 186(i the Order erected their 
l)ri'sent tine hall, a rather stately building, three stories 
high, the thinl tl<'<.r l)eing used for lodge room, the neces- 
sary ante-rooms, etc. Mt. Olive Encampment, Xo. 18, was 
established Se])temlx^r KJ, 184J), by S]iecial Grand Deputy 
Patriarch Jared C. Joctdyn, but the charter was not issued 
until JaiiUitrv 1>, isr)(). The charter members were: J. 
W. ('ann<»n, John ( 'ahhvcll. J. P. ( 'rickmeur, Jeiletliah 

ll.hnl, George B. Jocelyn, M. I'. (U nnd J. B. 

La I'lante. 

Old Post IxKlge, Xo. 332, was instituted July 30, 1869, 
by W. II. DeWfdf, Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of 
the State of hitliana. The chart*^>r mendters were: Lazarus 
Xf^ble, I>( rnhard Kuhn, dr., George Parrott, Alfred Pat- 
i<'ii. \\'illi:ini Daviilson. II. J. Watgen, John Ix>ten, Jolm 
II. .Mas.sty, WinHeld M. Stodilard, B. V. Johnson and 
.1. II. E. Sprinkle. The first (>tticei*s were: Lazarus 
Xoble, .\. C; .1. II. E. Sprinkle, V. G. ; IL J. Wat- 
gen, S. 

I.ichig Lodge, .\n. 4il, was iiist it ut('(l .Mjuvh 4, 1874, 
I'v ( harles Scha\im. I). I), (i. .\I. The following were 
charter mendK'rs: II. .1. Wiiti:tii. B. Baswitz, C. F. 
Keeker. Emil (Jrill, P. Sclniiiiachcr, Fred Ilellert, J. A. 
Kisclu'. Chri.s. llntfman, II. .Myers, W. Ila.ssinger, John 
""^. Bid. (J. Weinstein, Moses Wile and John Osweiler. 
Otlieers were: .M. Ba.switz, X. G. ; C. F. Keeker, V. G. ; 
Emil (irill, K. S. ; II. J. Watgen, Secretary, and Phil 
Schumacher, Treasurer. These latter lodges were subse- 



OLD YIXCENNES. 213 

quently consolidated with the parent lodge, Wabash ; Old 
Post Lodge being absorbed bv the Wabash in 1878, and 
the Liebig in 1880. 

The present officers of Wabash Lodge are : E. A. 
Burnet, X. G. ; William Humphrey, V. G. ; A. H. Rose- 
man, R. S. ; W. A. Hartwell, F. S. ; and H. A. Foulks, 
Treasurer. 

KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS. 

Among the more recently formed societies or lodges is 
Dioscouri Lodge, No. 47, of the Knights of Pythias, a fra- 
ternal, benevolent organization which was organized June 
4, 1874. The charter members were: A. J. Thomas, D. 
T. Patton, Isaac Lyons, O. H. Cobb, R. J. Greenhow, 
C. M. Allen, Jr., H. Q. Ashley, D. B. Hamaker, H. H. 
Hackman, E. M. Kellum, LI. J. Watgen, M. Baswitz, J. C. 
Beeler, E. L. Ryder, F. B. Posey, F. W. Beard, Simon 
Payne, King H. ^falone, Peter McCarthy, C. W. Jones, 
II. A. Foulks, ]\[orris Fields, Thomas Dayson, J. E. Blair 
and John Dofar. The first officers were: D. T. Patton, 
C. V. ; O. II. Cobb, V. C. ; II. A. Foulks, M. of E. ; II. Q. 
Ashley, K. of R. and S. ; James C. Beeler, P. ; Thomas 
Dayson, O. G. ; E. L. Ryder, I. G. ; C. M. Allen, Jr., M. 
of .v. The present officers of the lodge are: Fred Miller, 
M. of W. ; Sam W. Emison, C. C. ; Frank E. Henry, V. 
C. ; William Brown, P. ; George Borrowman, K. of R. and 
S. ; James F. Lewis, M. of E. ; H. S. Latshaw, M. of F. ; 
W. R. Thurgood, O. G. ; A. Grant McKay, I. G. ; Jas. S. 
Pritehett, W. R. Thurgood and C. C. Winkler, Trustees. 
The present membership <if the lodge is eighty-four. 



•^14 HlSTOincAI. SKKTi JIKS 

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. 

This orpini/.jitinii is cr<)in})os(*<l only of tho union vetorans 
of the Civil War and was institute*! t<» peqiotuato the 
scenes and exploits (ti army life and hrinp closer together 
those who had gallantly fought to ])revent the disinend)er- 
inent of the Fnion fonne<l hy our fathers of the United 
States. The name of the institution is Jeff (\ Davis P(»st, 
No. 16, Department of Indiana, and was organized March 
2G, 1S80, with the following meml)ers: James Ostrander, 
('.; John Hack, S. V. C. ; J. C. Beeler, J. V. ('. ; J.»s<^ph 
Koseman, Q. M. ; John Xelson, (). I).; David Agnew, A.; 
.1. .1. Cunningham, (). (J. : T. D. Mitchell. C. The present 
othcers of the Post are: Abe S. Reel, C. ; Grover Ay res, 
A.: Jnscj>h Ivusenian, S. V. C. ; Jerre Hershy, J. V. C. ; 
diihii Xejsuii, ( ). I ). : S. F. Johnson, C ; George Penning- 
ton, (I M.: I.nui> Mullet, (). (;. 

BEN-HUR LODGE. 

The Malluch Court, Xu. 4."», T. P>. II., was orgaui/e<l 
Deeendur 4, l.s'.L*., l.y K. K. Hayes, of Crawfordsville, 
Tnd., with a charter mend>ership of eighty-one. The fol- 
lowing othcers were chosen and installe<l : Chief, II. S. 
Latshaw; Judge, A. S. Lane; Teacher, J. K. Jessup; 
Scribe, Will L. Tewalt; Keeper of Tribute, John T. Boyd; 
Caj>tain, Samuel Thompson; Guide, E. S. Si)arrow; 
Kec'iH-r <»f Outer Gate, .lohn Hurst ; Keeper of Inner (Jate, 
C. H. ( 'alloway. 

This instituti<m is l>enevolent, fraternal and Ix^neficiary 
in its character, excee<lingly popular with uuuiy, and has a 
go.wlly membershi]). The origin of its iiaiiie was sM«rirest4'(l 



OLD VINCENNES. 215 

bv the noted and world-wide read book ''Ben-IInr," written 
by General Lew Wallace, an Indiana man, and had its con- 
ception at Crawfordsville, Ind., the home of General 
Wallace, the distinguished author. Its present member- 
ship is 388, and is officered by the following: Chief, A. T. 
Cobb ; Assistant Chief, J. C. Wise ; Judge, Mrs. Shugert ; 
Teacher, Mrs. Evans ; Scribe, Will L. Tewalt ; Keeper of 
Tribute, Mrs. Latshaw; Guide, Gertrude Scott; Captain, 
Winfield Robinson ; Keeper of Inner Gate, James Hens- 
ley ; Keeper of Outer Gate, T. J. Burrell. 

ORDER OF ELKS. 

The character of the Elks is benevolent, protective and 
social. The Order is comparatively of recent origin, it 
having been instituted in 1868, by a few gentlemen of the 
theatrical profession, but it has long since outgrown its 
original environments and embraces in its membership now 
gentlemen of all professions and industrial callings ; the 
only standards for membership being that of age and wor- 
thiness. The Order has grown rapidly and promises much 
good to the brotherhood of mankind in building up a gTcat 
fraternity, irrespective of ^^country, creed, ^ doctrine or 
belief." 

The local lodge was instituted November 1, 1894, as 
ISTo. 291, by District Deputy James M. Healy, assisted by 
Indianapolis Lodge, ISTo. 13, in I. O. O. F. hall, with 
thirty-five initial members, and the following gentlemen 
were elected to fill the offices, to wit : W. A. Reiman, E. 
R. ; (;. B. O'Donnell, E. L. K. ; Geo. E. Greene, E. L. K. ; 
E. J. Julian, E. L. K. ; S. Liebshultz, Secretary ; I. Lyons, 
Treasurer; Geo. Schwenk, Tiler; E. E. Shores, Esquire; 



Vlii lli>|n|il( AL SKKT(HK8 

CliarUs Laujrt'l, I. ('.: Trusteos, M. IltMudskopli, P. II. 
.MfCart.v, F. W. Bloom. 

TIu- present otiicors, VM)-2, are: P. K. Mc( nr\\, K. K. ; 
II. .1. K.Milks. K. ].. K.: C. C. Gosnell, E. L. K. ; Jos. V. 
Ilcrshy, K. \.. \\. ; V.. .1. .Iiilian. Secretary; Geo. Frendrick, 
Trea.'iurei- ; .las. Sowdeii, Tiler: W. X. l^beson, ■ P^s- 
(piire: .1. ( '. \Va<riii»r, T. G. ; C. A. Wei.sert, Chaplain ; E. A. 
lieaclier. Organist: Trn.stees: R. B. Jessup, II. Eherwine, 
das. (lattun. Past Exalted Rulei-s: W. A. Ueiman, ISH-i; 
C. P>. O'Donnell, Isji:. : Go<j. E. (irmie, ISOO; E. J. 
Julian. 1S!»:; F. W. Bloom, ISOS; E. L. Ryder. isOl); 
S. K. Beard, IJMH); I. Lyons, 1!)()1. 

ir eliarity. justice, l)rotherly love and fidelity are its 
w.iicliunrds, humanity must he the recijiient of many of 
its eunrt(»sies calculated to lift up and make jrhid tlie hearts 
of many in times of ne<'il and comforting sympathy. 

RED mp:n. 

riie Pianke.shaw Jriln', InijK'rial Order of Red Men, 
Xo. 1(>8, was institute*] July 1, 1S!M). The first oHv-ers of 
the order were: (". II. DeBolt, Prophet: S. \V. Williams, 
Sachem: E. liierhaus. Senior Saiiamore: II. S. Latshaw, 
dunior Sa<j;ajnore; (ieorge II. Turner, ( 'hief of Records; 
Isaac Lyons, Keeper of Wampum. The order is fraternal 
and co-operative in character, and takes its name from a 
trihe of Indians who founded the villajre ( 'he-jK*-k«>-ke 
( Briishwood ), where the city (d' Vincennes is now locate<l. 
It is said that these Indians were always friendly with the 
white jH'ople, ami allottnl the southern part of their village 
for the hahitation of the early trailers and missionaries. 
The fraternal, un.seltish and nohle ipialities of this tribe 



OLD yiNCENNES. 217 

of Indians, no doul)t, sug'g'ested the name^ for the local 
lodge, Piankeshaw. The Order is also benevolent in its 
character, carine; for its sick members and attendina; to 
the disposition of those who depart ''to their happy hunt- 
ing ground." 

The Order is unique in dress, imitating their illustrious 
namesakes, are veritable "rough riders," and well drilled 
in the warwhoop of the lied Men of "ye olden tyme," and, 
while on parade, rival Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. 

The present officers are : John L. Interreiden, Prophet ; 
Oliver P. Glass, Sachem ; William H. Long, Senior Saga- 
more; George E. Oshea, Junior Sagamore; Frank A. 
Thuis, C^hief of Records ; David H. Byers, Collector of 
Wampum ; II. S. Latshaw, Keeper of Wampum ; P. R. 
McCarthy, Great District Deputy Grand Sachem. 

CATHOLIC KNIGHTS OF AMERICA, BRANCH No. 533. 

This is a uniformed rank of a benevolent, social, secta- 
rian institution of the St. John's German Church, and was 
organized June 17, 1888. The oider is fraternal and pro- 
tective in its character, is composed of some of the leading 
men of the church, and, when on parade on special occa- 
sions, make a creditable appearance in military drill and 
display. The following were the charter members : The 
Reverend Agedius J. Merz, Spiritual Director ; Henry 
Scheffers, President ; Wilhelm Hehmann, Vice-President ; 
Frank Reiter, Recording Secretai-y ; Peter Kief er, Finan- 
cial Secretary; Gerard Reiter, Treasurer; Bernhardt 
Scheifers, Sergeant ; Henry Keller, Sentinel ; John Hoff- 
man, Ilenrv Lloft'man and Jolin Heller, Trustees. Addi- 



218 HISTOHK AL SKKTCTIKS 

tional charter membfrs were Anton ivnu-k and licrnard 
Jensen. 

This Order now has a menilxM-ship of sixtv-tive, and their 
insurance fund amounts to $82,000. Two of tlie niem- 
lK*rs of this society have hehl lii^li and ht>norable positions 
in tlie national organization. Our worthy fellow-citizen, 
the Ilctnonihle (ierard Iveiter, enjoyed the hijjh distinction 
of bein^ Grand Treasurer of the national organization for 
several years, and, but for the edict promulgated that all 
gi'and officers should make their residence in the city of St. 
TA»uis, where the Grand Lodge is located, he pn»bably 
would now Ix' the Grand Treasurer. Another nuMnU'r of 
this local organization, John W. Xordous, was chosen 
Grand Commander for several successive years. The pres- 
ent officers of this branch are: The Reverend M. Fleisch- 
man. Spiritual Director; Gerard Rciter. President; 
Joseph Clausmann, \'ic( -President; Frank Keiter, Record- 
ing SccHitary; Joseph Hans, Financial Secretary; Joseph 
Sclu'tfers, Treasurer; Px-rnard Anton, Sergeant; .loseph 
Sunmiick, Sentinel; Henry Seheffers, Henry Deusterberg 
and .losepli Olmennis, Trustees. 

Wl.DlCAL. 

There is little to l)e said of the earliest physicians lo- 
cat(^l here, since no record exists giving their names or 
labors. If is said a Doctor Tisdale was here as caily as 
IT'.ti', and that Sanniel .McKee, Surgeon rnit<'d States 
.Vrniy. was here as early as 1800, and Doctor Scull, a 
little later, who was with General Harrison at the battle of 
Tijjpecaiioe. Knox County history says a medical society 



OLD VTNCENNES. 219 

was orii'anized in 1817, and met again in 1819 for the last 
time, l)ut no names are given of the members. 

The first medical society of Vincennes, of wliich any an- 
thentic record exists, was organized Jnne 5, 1827, with the 
following named members and officers : President, Doctor 
E. ]\rc]Sramee ; Secretary, Hiram Decker ; Treasurer, J. 
Kuykendall ; members, Philip Barton, J. I). Wolverton 
and Doctor O'PIaver. Doctor 'Jajnes Porter was elected 
a mendier at the same meeting, paying a fee of $5 for a di- 
ploma. 

It is presumed that the society was organized under the 
provisions of the charter of the Vincennes University, 
which permitted the conferring of the degree of doctor of 
mec],icine. The society was called ''The First District 
Medical Society of Indiana." As the years went by 
Doctors A. Elliot and J. W. Davis became members ; the 
latter subsequently went into politics and became a United 
States Minister abroad. In May, 1830, Doctors W. Din- 
widdle, Joseph W. Posey, Hezekiah Holland, Dr. Pen- 
nington and Joseph Somes were admitted to membership. 
In November following Doctor X. Mears joined. In May, 
1831, Doctors W. W. Hitt, H. Davidson and O. G. Stewart 
were admitted. 

In 3'ears following, up to 1853, there appear on the roll 
Doctors G. G. Barton, Thomas JSTesbit, Joseph Brown, 
Joseph Maddox, Daniel Stahl, F. M. McJenkin, F. F. 
Offatt, William Warner, J. S. Sawyer, John Barry, in 
June, 1839 ; B. J. Baty, March, 1840 ; Alexander Leslie, 
November, 1843 ; William Fairhurst, jSTovember, 1842 ; 
John R. Mantle, N^ovember, 1844; James P. DeBruler, 
Novend^er, 1842; Thomas B. Thompson, 1841; Hubbard 



220 inSTOmCAL SKETCHES 

.M. Smith, May, 1n4I»; Gtx)r'rc I!. Shuiiianl. Juiir. Is4ii; 
R. B. Jessup, Febniarv, 1854. 

The first session of the General Assembly of the Terri- 
t<»rv of Indiana pjisso«l a law re«rulatin«r the practice of 
meilicine, and each jmlicial district iiad a medical hoard 
whose duty it was to rcfrnlatc the practice of nietlicinc and 
siir^erv. In 1S28 this society met again, and among other 
business passed a resolution reexmimending the formation 
of a Stat<^* society, and also forwarded a |><'titinn memo 
riali/.iiii: ('ongress to pass an act for the formation of a 
nuMliral pliarmacopea. This s<icicty's meetings arc recorded 
up to .March 23, l8.'3o. The otticers were then change<l, 
antl the secretary's books, giving further data, seem to 
have been lost. But the treasurer's books contain records 
uj) ti» Fcbi-uarv, 1854, the last three members admitted 
being lliilil»ard 'SI. Smith, (1. (t. Shumard and R. B. 
Jessu]), Sr. 

In the charter of the Vincennes University a medical 
• lepartment was provided for by the General Assenddy of 
In<liana Territory, and, in ls8i>, the physicians of Vin- 
cennes organized a schcnd of medicine, and petirioii(<l the 
Tnivci-sity Intard of trustees to gi-ant them a room in their 
building in which to teach medicine. At that time the 
pmpcrty of the University was in litigation, the State hav- 
ing s<MKed it and diverted it to the Rl»H»mington College, 
an<l the (hx'tors must have given u]> their project, as no 
fiirther re<'ords exist of the propose<l school of medicine. 
The charter provision still authorizes the establishment <»f 
such a sch(»ol, an<l some day in the distant future, when the 
Univei-sity is recou]»ed by the State of Indiana for the un- 
just seizure of its endowment bv some of the State's earliest 



OLD ViNCENNES. 331 

Legislators, and our city's population, wealth, intelligence 
and needs justify, another school of medicine may be or- 
ganized under it, which may be more successful. 

The writer has in his possession the seal of the society, 
the inscription bearing the words, "Vincennes Medical 
Society of Indiana, 1832," around the margin, the center 
being occupied by a beautiful fountain throwing up spray 
from its iippermost basin, while two dolphins are spouting 
spray from the sides. This society continued in existence, 
with occasional meetings, until 1875, when an organization 
was effected called the "Knox County Medical Society," 
which became subordinate to the Indiana State Medical 
Society, upon its organization. On October 26, 1875, the 
Tri-State Medical Society was organized in this city, com- 
posed of representatives from the States of Kentucky, Illi- 
nois and Indiana, as follows : President, Joseph Thomp- 
son, of Paducah, Ky. ; Vice-Presidents, W. A. Smith, of 
Illinois, J. K. Letcher, of Kentucky, and J. B. Armstrong, 
of Indiana ; Recording Secretary, George W. Burton, 
Mitchell, Ind. ; Corresponding Secretary, F. W. Beard, 
Vincennes, Ind. ; Assistant Secretaries, E. H. Luckett, 
Kentucky, and F. X. Rafferty, Illinois; Treasurer, Alfred 
Patton, Vincennes, Ind. Other attending members were: 
John R. Mantle, Hubbard M. Smith, W. W. Hitt, J. C. 
Beever, W. II. Beeson, R. B. Jessup, Vincennes; J. S. 
Dukate, Wheatland; J. T. Freeland, Freelandsville, and 
W. Witherspoon, Bruceville, Ind. 

The society was organized for helpfulness to each other 
and to bring the physicians of these States in closer touch 
with each other ; but, in a few years, it expanded so as to 
embrace the Middle Westeni States, when its name was 



222 IllsroHirAL SKKTCIIES 

changed to that of "Tlie Missis.si]»j>i Vallev Medical So- 
ciety:" and, finally, its nK'nil)erslii]) onihraced doctors 
from all parts of the Tnited Stat<'s, and rivaled in niend>ers 
and talents the Ainerie:in Mcflical Association. 

Fhf present Knox Connty McMljcal Society was orpin- 
ized April :i.">, IN".'), by eleetin<; for President J. W. Pu^h ; 
Secretary, F. W. Beard; Treasurer, Alfred Patton ; Cen- 
sors, O. C Fairluirst, Ilnhbard ^I. Smith and A. J. 
Ilan^rhton. The society now has thirty-five memliers, and 
mivts l)i-monthly at Vincennes. The present otticers are: 
President, .1. P. Ramsey; Vice-President, Greorge Kiiapj): 
Secretary, .1. W. Smadel; Treasurer, ('. E. Stewart; Ju- 
dicial Council, Xorman Beckes, .1. W. Smadel, J. P. 
Caney, li. F. Chambers, C. W. Benham. 

BAR ASSOCIATION. 

'i'he tirst legal courts itf Indiana were establishe<l here 
when Knox County was organized, in 1700, and from that 
period to the present the legal fraternity have been promi- 
nent in matters jiertaining ti> county, State and general 
government. 

Some of the briiilitest legal lights of the country have 
luade this town tin- fdrum i»f their forensic eloquence and 
astuti* acumen in legal lore, and some have risen to \>o 
judges, authors, statesmen. Congressmen, United Staters 
Senators and even to the higiiest office in the Nation. 

Karly in the nineteenth century Vincennes could l^ast 
of learned lawyers, such as George W. Johnson, Alexander 
iiuckner. Benjamin Parke, Thomas Randolph, J(>hn John- 
son, Isaac P)lackford, John Rice Jones, Henry \'aiider- 
berg, .lojm (Jibson, and later Samuel Judah, .lolm Law, 



OLD VINCENNES. 223 

C. M. Allen, B. M. Thomas, W. E. ^^black, F. W. Viehe, 
Thomas K. Cobb, N'athaniel Usher, X. F. Malott, Geo. G. 
Rilev, and others of like repnte. With this talent, so far as 
history and tradition go, up to a very recent period, no bar 
association was formed. It remained for Attorney S. W. 
Williams to take the initiative in the matter, when a meet- 
ing was called and held at the Union Depot, November, 
1900, at which time the Honorable B. M. Willoughby was 
elected President ; L. A. Meyer, Treasurer, and Robert G. 
Cauthorn, Secretary. A constitution and by-laws were 
adopted and approved by the court and spread upon its 
records. 

The objects of the organization are mutual improvement 
and benefit of its members ; to encourage a fraternity of 
feeling and social intercourse ; helpfulness to each other in 
sickness or distress, and to prevent, if possible, the enact- 
ment of bad laws. 

The following are charter members: Samuel W. Wil- 
liams, H. S. Cauthorn, Sr., J. P. Haughton, Arthur T. 
Oobb, John L. Buckles, James M. House, Samuel M. 
Eniison, John T. Goodman, Duncan Beckes, William S. 
Hoover, Oscar B. Williamson, Robert L. Buckles, Jona- 
than Keith, W. C. Johnson, H. W. Alexander, A. Camp- 
bell, James S. Pritchett, James W. Emison, George W. 
Shaw, O. C. Philips, W. A. Cullop, Orlando H. Cobb, W. 
H. DeWolf, C. E. Dailey, W. F. Calverly, Louis A. Meyer, 
Thomas B. Coulter, Henry S. Cauthom, Jr., Joseph T. 
Randolph, Alvin McClure, Charles G. McCord, Richard 
F. Davis, John Wilhelm, Elmer E. Smith, Clarence B. 
Kessinger, E. H. DeWolf, C. B. Judah, B. M. Willoughby, 
James A. McClure, Joseph Ross, George B. Hazelton and 
Robert G. Cauthorn. 



22-i 



IllSTOjaCAL .SKKTeJlKS 



Tlie nicetinj2:s of the association will be held animallyy 
on the (lay foll()\vinp: Tiianksgivino: Day, and, after looking 
after the ethics and good of the association in general, the 
nienilxTs will l(M)k after the condition of the inner man 
in a sniii])tn(»ns bancjuet, worthy of their illustrious and 
distinguishe<l |)re<lecei;sor, Blackstone, of "ye olden tyuie." 

The present officers are: President, James W. Eniison ; 
Secretary, Robert Frank Weems; Treasurer, Louis A. 
Mever. 



VINCENNES HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

This society was reorganized in IMli). Present othcers: 
Judge (Icorge Sliaw, Presideit; Hubbard M. Smith, 
Vite-President; Louis A. Meyer, Secretary; W. H. Pen- 
nington, Treasurer. 



Chapter X. 

MISCELLANEOUS— THE PRESS. 

THE newspaper men of this town have had tlieir ups 
and downs, as is the case in many other places, es- 
pecially those who' commenced publishing; papers 
early in the nineteenth century. The first newspaper pub- 
lished in Vincennes was the Indiana Gazette, July 4, 
1804, by Elihu Stout. The press and type w^ere brought 
here on horseback from Frankfort, Ky. In about eighteen 
months the plant was consumed by fire, l)ut, pluenixlike, it 
appeared again in 1807, but under the title of Tlie West- 
ern Sun, Democratic in politics, and continued publication 
until 1817, when its name was changed again, under other 
influences, to that of Western Sun and Gene ml Adver- 
tiser. In the forties this paper was sold to John R. Jones, 
who, with his brother, W. A. Jones, continued its publica- 
tion until the former received an appointment in Wash- 
ington, whereupon its puldication was suspended. When 
Jones returned to Vincennes the paper was started again 
under the name of Jones' Vincennes Sentinel. This pub- 
lication had a short life, and was followed by the Vin- 
cennes Indiana Patriot, published by J. Mayes. This same 
year (1853) J. and M. A. McCTaugherty published The 
Courant, and soon the two papers united, the name being 
changed to the Courant and Patriot. This paper was sus- 
pended in 185G, when George E. Green came into posses- 
sion of the plant, and at once revived the old name, West- 

L151 -225- 



226 lllSTOKU'AL SKKTi IlKS 

em Sun, after its eflFaceiuent for about ten voars. Mr. 
Green continued the ])ul»lieati<)n until his death, in isTO. 
It next passed into tlie jiossession of R. C. Kise and A. J. 
ThoMias. On the ilcnt'i of Kise, in 1S73, Doctor Alfrc<l 
Patton iMfaiiie ))art owner, and in lsT<J Royal K. Purcell, 
the ])res('iir owner. hou<;ht the ])lant, and has ])laeed it 
ujion a tinii and iiayinj; foundation. It is now issued as 
an afternoon daily, and has a weekly edition also. 

About the year ISSO W. W. Bailey published for a 
while a Siufrle Tax j)ai)er; and recently Mr. Harbinson 
started a paper called The Era. 

Tradition has it that another ])a])er was started in 1S18, 
but there is no record of any other paper printed here until 
the establishment of the Viticenn/'S Gazette, by R. Y. Cad- 
din^on, alxnit the year 1829, as an orpin of the Whip; 
j)arty, who jiublished the paper for about twenty-live years, 
at which period it was scdd to James A. Mason, CJ. R. Har- 
vey and ^f. P. Ghee, who started the first daily paper ever 
publishe«l in the city, when itvS Whifjism was chanp^ed to 
Re|nd)licanism. 

After a few years the plant passed into the hands of 
Doctor Hubbard M. Smith, M. V. ( I liee being retained as 
l<K'al cxlitor. In 1S(»1 Doctor Smith, having been appointinl 
postmaster at Vincennes, gave very little attention to the 
paper, and in a few succeeding years the plant was leased 
and sold s<'veral times to adventurers, who possessed neither 
money nor brains enough to make it flourish. It reverted 
back to Doctor Smith for non-payment of purchase money, 
who, in lS<).'i, <]isposed of it to J. M. Grifiin, who published 
the paper for a year or two, when lie removed the plant 
from the citv. and the liazcttc ceased to exist. 



OLD YINCENNES. 227 

During the Civil War several papers were launched for 
public favors, such as the News of the Day, bv J. G. Hutch- 
inson ; the Old Post Union, by the same publisher; The 
Vincen7ies Times, by R. Y. Caddington and General Laz. 
ISToble, which latter was sold to Malachi Krebbs. When 
failure was made to pay the balance of the purchase 
money on the plant, it passed into the hands of J. J. 
Mayes, John IMallet and A. G. Y. Crotts, and in a short 
time ceased publication. There have been two German pa- 
pers, of Democratic proclivities, published here, one by Mr. 
Rosenthal many years ago. The latter was called The 
Post, edited by Louis Meyer, about ten years ago, but both 
these papers were short lived. 

The Vincennes CommerciaJ was established in March, 
1877, by S. F. Horrall & Sons, and was Republican in poli- 
tics. On Eebruary 15, 1881, it was sold to the Commer- 
cial Company, with J. C. Adams as editor and manager. 
In April, 1882, it changed its editor and proprietor, be- 
coming the property of T. A. Adams, who still continues 
its publication in daily and weekly editions. The paper has 
been placed by him upon a sound financial basis. 

The Knox County Democrat, now edited and published 
by Messrs. Garrard & Quittle, was started about the year 
1891, by Mr. Allen Campbell, who published it for a few 
years and then disposed of the plant. Like many other 
junior enterprises, it met with reverses, as it had keen com- 
petition in older established papers. The present proprie- 
tors seem to understand their business, and no doubt pluck 
and energy will finally crown their efforts with success. 

The last paper published here was established by a stock 
compan}^, advocating Republican principles and seeking 



228 IIISTOlJirAT. SKKTCIIKS 

popular favor. It is the Capitol, and was edited by George 
("o<.k. \{s first issue was on Fcl>niarv 4, 1899. In March, 
1902, Mr. ('<Mik witlidrcw fnMii tlic I'ajiiiol, and the pai>er 
is now jMihlisluvl iin<l ('<litc<l Itv V. \V. Curtis, Perrs' C. 
Green :iii<l Ii:il]»h I )uk:ito. 

I.IBR.ARIES— TF^E VINCENNES UNIVERSITY LIBR.ARY. 

In the vear 1S08 there was oru:ani/.o<l the Vineennes 
Hist^trical and Anti(|uarian Society following the organi- 
zation of the Vincennes University, and it was originally 
inl<-M<le(l to l>e an adjunct to this latter institution. This 
society tlourished for some years, during which time many 
valuahh- JHM^ks and palet»ntological specimens were accumu- 
late<l. Hut just as the university was preparing to build 
up a flourishing institution, the newly fledge<l State of 
Tn<liana presumed that she owned eveiwthing in sight, and 
procefMled to confiscate the university's projx'rty, which had 
been a('<i\iinMl l>y tliat instirution under act of Congress, 
and to give the ])roceeds to Bl(M»mington College. This lui- 
just and unprecedented procedure not only paralyzed the 
school, hut gave a death blow t<» the Historical and Anti- 
(luarian Society, as it was to rise or fall with the university. 
It had aecuiinUated many rare lMH>ks and specimens of 
value, but from this time forward it eked out a sickly 
existence, and finally gave up the ghost, and much of its 
pro|K'rty was lost. Many years afterwards a few jH'rsons 
of a younger generation, bought \\\^ all the shares of stock 
that were in existence, and, f<»r a snnill consideration, con- 
veyed the remaining as.sets of the society to the resiis('itate<l 
university, which owns the library ajid antitpiarian speci- 



OLD YINCENNES. 229 

mens. The latter lias not received many additions, but the 
lilirarv has been increased in numbers of volumes until it 
now exceeds 5,000 ; these books are accessible to the 
public upon proper application. If the conscience of 
the State of Indiana is ever pricked to a realizing sense of 
the injustice practiced on its iirst educational institution 
even to pay one-fourth of its indebtedness to said institu- 
tion, this library will be increased and enlarged in the scope 
of its benisons, until the university will become what its 
founders designed it should be in fact as well as name. 
For the quickening of her conscience let us, together with 
all lovers of justice and righteousness, devoutly pray. 

CATHOLIC CHURCH LIBRARY. 

The church doubtless commenced the collection of books 
at an early period of its existence, perhaps with the advent 
of its first stated supply in 179-i, but no great accumulation 
of them occurred until the arrival of Bishop Brute, after 
the See of Vincennes was fonned, in 1834. The Bishop's 
residence became then fixed here, and the nucleus of the 
library immediately received large accessions of rare and 
valuable books, printed in all the European languages, some 
dating as far back as 1176. Many large volumes, 11x18 
inches in size, some numbering ten volumes, the text of 
same being in Arabic, Syrian and Samaritan languages. 
There is a hible in the French language, printed in Ger- 
many in 1662 ; others of the date of 1476. Some of these 
books are slightly illuminated ; it is said large illuminated 
books were once in the library, but were lost. Xothing 
positively is known on the subject, so the Rector, Father 



230 IIlSloiaiAL SKKTLllES 

( luo^cu, intoriiiod the writer. Bisliop Brute was a scholar, 
and had started well the foundation for a magnificent 
lihrary, and, had he lived a few years longer, would no 
douht have added to it largely. This lihrary has grown, 
with ])si5sing years, until il now numlH-rs alxnit 10.000 
vohiiiics, many of them rare in this country. 

CITY LIBRARY. 

Alxtut 1S50 a ]»hilanthrf»pic gentleman hv the name of 
McC'lure bequeathed to each county of Indiana a fund of 
$500 that should form a basis for a library in each county, 
to be oalle<l the "McClure Township Librar>^" Under its 
provisions a to\^niship lihran' was fonned a half century 
ago. As no special ]>rovision was made to keep it up or 
care for it, the books became scattere<l, and were al>out to 
l>ecome worthless to the public, when, in April, ISSO, the 
city took up the matter and gave it a home in the city hall, 
and has added to it annually, thus metamoq)hosing it into 
a city library', by which name it is now designated. Upon 
the reorganization of it, under the present title, provision 
was made f<»r a librarian, a fund for the purchase of new 
books, rc^ilations regarding the circulation of them, the 
times of the day when lx)oks can be had, etc. 

This library now contains about five thousand volumes, 
and has been con<lucted in such a nninner as to give much 
benefit and pleasure to the public. The librarians have been 
competent, faithful and accommodating. Miss Myrtle ^f. 
liuddy, the prest^nt efficient librarian, having succeeded, 
two years ago, [Mrs. Judge George Shaw. It is to ha hoped 
that the interest in the city library- will not wane, but that 
the citizens will lend it lil>eral aid. whether some million- 
aire comes to their aid or not. 



OLD VmCENNES. 231 



THE BANKS. 



The first banks established in Indiana were at Vin- 
cennes, but by whom and at what time is not known, as no 
record exists here of them, or even of the banks of later 
years ; hence the task of gathering statistics relating to the 
first banking institutions has been found difficult. 

In 1816, when the State of Indiana was admitted to 
the Union, there were but two lianks in the State, one at 
Madison and the other located in Vincennes, both of which 
were chartered by the Territorial Legislature. The old 
Constitution, that of 1816, prohibited the establishment 
of any bank of issue except the Legislature might charter 
a State bank and branches, "not exceeding one branch for 
any three counties. 

The first Legislature passed an act establishing a State 
bank, with branches at Corydon, Brookville and Vevay, 
and adopting the banks at Vincennes and Madison. "Ow- 
ing to bad management and speculation, all of the banks 
failed in 1821, three years after their establishment. For 
several years after that date there was not a bank of issue 
in the State." (Bankers' Magazine, 1902, p. 107.) 

It is not known to the writer who conducted the first 
bank, nor the amount of capital it was based upon. Tradi- 
tion tells of a distillery and mill that were located up th& 
river, opposite the park. There is no other record of any 
legitimate bank being established until 1836, when the- 
Legislature of the State chartered The State Bank of In- 
diana, with thirteen branches, one of which was located 
here, with John Ross President and George Rathborn 
Cashier, the latter being succeeded by Benjamin F. 



232 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

Wheeler, who was suoeeeded bv John F. Bayard. This 
was the only hank liere from that period <»f tiiiu^ until 
its charter expired, December 31, lS5fi. January 1, 
1857, the Bank of tlie State of Indiana came into exist- 
ence, with John Ross President and John F. Bayard 
Cashier. On the death of the latter, Joseph L. Bay- 
ard succccdtMl to that position in 1S50. In ISO.'i, after the 
national law hecanic o])erative which taxe<l State and pri- 
vate banks 10 per c<'nt., the Bank of the State closed its 
affairs, and The Vincennes National Bank was orpinizetl, 
and succeede<l the old bank with the foll<>win<i: otHcers: 
John Ross, President; \V. .1. Williams, Cashier. Mr. Ross 
continucil President of this institution until his demise in 
1873, after a brilliant and faithful s<*n'ice of thirty-seven 
years, no jKitron losiuir a dollar on account of his l)anks. 
A better culogA- than this one fact, tellinj? of his inte^ity 
and sapicity, couhl n<tt be passetl ujxm his career as a 
<'orrect business man. 

The Vincennes National Bank continutxl after the death 
of Mi-. IJi--. W. .1. Williams succeeded to tlit^ presidency 
and W. .M. Tyler was elected Cashier. Some years later, 
on the death of W. J. Williams, W. M. Tyler became Presi- 
dent, with lliram Foulks as Cashier. A few years after 
this, the bank having: ceased to do businei^s on sound bank- 
inir principles, heavy losses followed, which resulted in the 
windinj; up of its affairs, causing givat distress to deposi- 
tors and st/x*kholders. 

The Fii*st National J^ank of Vincenni'S wa.s organized 
in September, 1871, with a capital stock of .$10(),()(H); 
J. II. Rabb, President ; J. L. Bayard, Cashier. This bank 
continues to df> business. Preeident Rabb continuetl at the 



OLD VINCENNES. 333 

head oi the institution until his death, heing considered 
the shrewdest and safest financier in the city. J. L. Bayard 
succeeded to the presidency, which position he still holds ; 
P. M. O'Donnell^ Cashier; H. V. Somes, Jr., Assistant 
Cashier; J. L. Bayard, Jr., Bookkeeper. 

The German National Bank of Vincennes, with a capi- 
tal of $100,000, was organized August 5, 1888. Its officers 
"were : Seleman Gimble, President ; Garret Reiter, Vice- 
President ; George R. Alsop, Cashier. Upon the death of 
the President, William Baker was elected to that position. 
The officers at this time are : President, William Baker ; 
Vice-President, Garret Reiter; Cashier, G. R. Alsop; 
Assistant Cashier, H. J. Broeckman. 

The Second jSTational Bank of Vincennes was organized 
in August, 1893, its officers being Allen Tindolph, Presi- 
dent; George W. Donaldson, Cashier; W. J. Freeman, 
Assistant Cashier. Capital, $100,000. On the death of the 
President, George W. Donaldson succeeded to that office. 
The present officers are : President, George W. Donaldson ; 
Cashier, W. J. Freeman; Assistant Cashier, J. T. Boyd; 
Bookkeeper, J. F. Hall. 

In 1859 a bank was organized under the title of The 
^N^ew York Stock Bank, with Samuel Bayard, President; 
J. F. Bayard, Cashier. This was about the time the free 
bank craze w^as beginning to affect Indiana people, soon 
after which "yellow dog banks" l^ecame as thick as black- 
berries in June ; when "counterfeit detectives" were in use 
as much as a day book with a business finn, to tell tbcm 
^'where they w^ere at," in the financial world, each day. 
The officers of this institution, reading the signs of the 
times correct!}', being honorable gentlemen and not willing 



234 IIISTOIIK AL SKF.TCIIKS 

to Ix.' eliLssed with the "wild car* iiistitiitions, lia.>-U'ued to 
wind up its affairs, liaviiiir l)ceii operative less than two 
years. 

To «jive the pri'stni miniaiioii an idea of the character 
of these institutions, tlie writer will crive a bit of his expe- 
rience with thciM. Il«' had a iiicf little {"Uiy he had bought 
for his son, wiiich became so fat, saucy and gay that, for 
fear of broken Imnes to set, he concluded to sell it. Farmer 
P. came along alxtut this time. He wished to buy just such 
an animal and a bargain was struck. He took the animal,, 
and the writer t<M>k currency in full for same. Xot having 
to use the "'shinplasters'' until the next day, the writer was 
somewhat surprised to find a goodly part of them uncurrent 
with the merchants. I happened not to see Mr. P. that 
day. When I saw him afterwards, I called his attention to 
the worthlt^s bills ; but, *'( )h I" said he, ''they were good the 
day I paid you." I cxudd not swear they were not current 
at that time, and stt I had to pocket the loss. A more in- 
famous law to defraud the people was never enacte<.l than 
the Indiana Free lianking Law. Uncle Sam stepped in 
pretty soon and saved the people from general bankruptcy 
with a national law. 

riie foregoing have been all the banks of issue organized 
in this city. There were other private banks, one conducted 
by R. J. ^IcKenney, called McKenney's Deposit Bank,, 
and one other. t]w Vincennes German Bank, established 
by J. L. Bayard and Henry Knirhm, in 1809, and which 
was succecnletl by the First National Bank in 1871, J. L. 
Bayanl iMvoming C'jishier of the latter bank. 

W. F. Pidgeon and W. H. H. Terrell opened and started 
the Bank of Vincennes about 1860, but did little if any 



OLD yiNCENNES. 235 

business, and soon closed it. Abont that time George R. 
Swallow and a Mr. Black opened a bank in Judah's row, 
on Second, between Main and Busseron streets. Its busi- 
ness was insignificant and soon closed. Swallow is now 
president of a bank in Denver, Col. 

And there was once a deposit bank located here, when 
and by whom no record exists to tell. The writer has a 
bill or note, of the denomination of ten dollars, bearing the 
superscription: ''The Wabash Insurance Company will 
pay to bearer ten dollars, on demand, for that amount re- 
ceived on deposit. Vincennes 18 . . " Vignette, 

centrally ; at top of note, the three gTaces ; on the right 
hand end the portrait of Jefferson ; on the left end, Receipt 
■ — Deposit. 'No signature or date. This may have been the 
issue of the milling company. 

The three national banks of Vincennes, noted in the fore- 
going statement, are all sound, and doing a large legitimate 
banking business ; and the character and standing of the 
officers give a sure giiarantee of their permanency and pros- 
perity in the future. 

BOARD OF TRADE. 

Although it has been the author's aim to deal with mat- 
ters pertaining mainly to transactions and persons of the 
early part of the nineteenth century, and those incident- 
allv connected therewith, yet so important an institution of 
modern times as the Board of Trade must not be slighted, 
since it is the bone and sinew of yoimg Vincennes. 

The Vincennes Board of Trade was organized in 1883, 
when ]Sr. F. Dalton was elected President, Edward Watson 
Vice-President, George M. Ockford Secretary, L. A. Wise 



23<5 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

Assistant Seerotarv and Jus<')»li L. Bayard Treasurer. The 
Board of Directors were J. II. Rabb, G. Weinstein, P. E. 
McCarty, E. ^f. Thompson and E. II. Smith. A constitn- 
tion and ]>v-laws having been adopted, the fee of admission 
was phieed at $'> for c^'rtificate and monthly dues at 25 
cents, tlie mendHM'sliip l>eing unlimited. 

This institiuion has done, and is doinjr, a godd work for 
the city, and has adde<l to its p<»pulation and wealth more 
than all the other influences and agencies combined, and 
its power increases as time passes by. At its foundation it 
had many difficulties to contend with, as it was something 
new and an innovation for the old nutssbacks of the city. 
They could not see in atlvance from where the benefits were 
to l>e reajX'd for the outlay of their money and labor. They 
were not willing to "cast bread upon the waters" of trade, 
trusting to Pr()vidence and zeal of the workers for a re- 
turn tli<r( for. P)nl ])atienc<', zeal and labor, with int<'Ili- 
gent foresight and faith were theirs, and the rewards fol- 
lowe<l in due sea.son. The days of their adversity has 
pas»e<l, and they have set the ball of prosperity rolling at 
greater spee<l than ever before, as the many late industries 
a<lded to the general Imsiness of the city will attest. Where 
there was one industry twenty years ago, a dozen or more 
dot the (Mitskirts of the city, and it is almost daily intinirc<l 
of by cor]M»rations and capitalists who desire g»x><l locations 
for investments for their money. This organization has 
developeil a Iwxim unknown during the past of the city, and 
if all tlie citizens will put tlu'ir shoulders to the wheel, 
while it is at high tide, it will "lead to fortune and suc- 
cess." 



OLD VINCENNES. 237 

The present membership exceeds twO' hundred, with 
weekly accessions, nnder the leadership of its intelligent 
and energetic officers. 

The following are the present able and progressive offi- 
cers: President, Edward Watson; Vice-President, Anton 
Simon; Treasurer, Joseph L. Bayard; Secretary, H. T. 
Willis, and Assistant Secretary, H. J. Foulks. 

EPIDEMICS. 

The history of Vincennes would not be complete without 
recording something of the epidemics that have visited it 
during its one hundred and seventy years of existence, 
during which time some episodes occurred that embraced 
ludicrous as well as serious phases. Some histories of Vin- 
cennes tell of a traditional epidemic occurring in the 
eighteenth century in this village, but it will be seen, in 
another part of these sketches, that that epidemic occurred 
at Juchereau's Fort, at the mouth of the Ohio river. While 
we know nothing but what tradition tells us, of a first epi- 
demic occurring here, those of subsequent years are re- 
corded in the history of the times. 

The Epidemic of 1820. 

I^ot many of the present generation of citizens, prob- 
ably, have ever heard of this terrible scourge from sickness 
during the earlier history of this to-svn. In 1820 an epi- 
demic occurred here, as related by the old settlers, that 
almost depopulated the village. During the summer 
months a fatal disease prevailed, resembling yellow fever, 
and the strong ]:)resumption is that this disease was the 



238 IIISTUKU AL SKKTlllKS 

yellow malady. This fever had often prevaile<l further 
north, and its presence in the town at the time was not very 
surprising. During the early times communication be- 
tween the Old Post and New Orleans was much more fre- 
«^uont than now, and, as yellow fever existed in the latter 
city (luring the summer months, it was not an uncommon 
(tccun'ence for the germs to be introducexl in the North. 
It was only necessary that favorable conditions should 
exist for its propagation in the Valley of the Wabash, and, 
at tliis time, such conditions existed at Vincennes. The 
season was exceedingly dry, the river low, and tlio waters 
alxtut the town were stagnant, the home of the mostpiito. 
Kecent discoveries, es|K>cially those brought out by experi- 
ments in Cuba, where yellow fever was for many years a 
common disease, owing to the transmission of its c^iuse 
through one species of mos(]uito, ster/(/mj/ia fasciata, will 
explain the nature and virulence <»f the fever which marked 
this epideiiiie. If <>iily (nu> case had ])een introduced here 
from the far South, where this species of mosquito was 
l>r(>]>agate<l, in stagnant pools of water surrounding the 
town, the disease could and would l>e readily communi- 
cated to the inliabitants. The writer doubts not that tlie 
dis<»ase, so fatal here in the suunner of 1820, was yellow 
fever. This mosquito is represented as darker in color 
than the less virulent ones, its notes are lower in the scale 
of sound, and it is these fellows with the basso voice, es- 
pecially, whos<> s<'renades we shoidd obje<*t to. The trans- 
mission of mahirial <liseaseby the mosquito was establishetl 
n.any years ago by Italian physicians at llonie, where ma- 
larial diseases often exist to an alarming extent. 



OLD A^INCENNES. 239 

The year in question the river got so low that the grass 
grew in great luxuriance far out from the shores, and the 
opinion prevailed that this was the cause of the virulent 
fever, and the city authorities had this grass mowed, ex- 
pecting it to float away with the current, but, on the con- 
trary, it remained wlun-e cut, decayed, and became the hot- 
bed of malaria and the breeder of the mosquito. It hav- 
ing been frequently demonstrated that malaria is often in- 
troduced into the human system by the bite of this insect, 
it was not to be wondered at that fevers prevailed alarm- 
ingly at Vincennes at that period. The numerous fatalities 
attending this scourge gave the town a notoriously bad 
reputation, and emigrants from the East, seeking homes 
in the far West, "passed by on the other side," leaving the 
sick city for other good Samaritans to lend it a helping 
hand, and lift it to its feet again. That day long since went 
by. Having learned that the best of water underlies the 
city, and that it could be easily and cheaply reached 
through driven wells, a water absolutely free from con- 
tamination of malarial and typhoid germs, at a depth of 
twenty-five feet, and having had the country adjacent thor- 
oughly drained and placed in cultivation, Vincennes now 
■stands in health superior to many and inferior to no city 
of its size in the West. 

The Cholera. 

Although a model city for health, owing to aseptic soil, 
pure water, sweet air and healthy topographical condi- 
tions, yet like all other towns, it may have visitations of 
contagious diseases, as its citizens fully realized in the 
summer of 1850, when cholera invaded the borough, with 



240 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

^ivat fatality. From the fact tliat tlii.s awful scourfre had 
prevailed in tiie Tnited States in 1S32, and at the time did 
not affect this town, the people here were lulled into the 
belief that \'inc«'nncs was ])nM»f apiinst its invasion. Peo- 
ple trencrallv, in fact the medical profession, were i<jii">rant 
of the cause of the disease, it hein^ lx»fore hacteriologA- had 
been pcrfect^nl, so far as to enable the micro.scopist to iso- 
late the ^cnii. :iii«l ]»liysicians underetood the way it was 
propairatcMJ. When the first ca.ses occurred here, the wise 
ones of the town ritlicuhnl the idea of cholera beinj; the 
<lis('as(', ;iih1 the piiMic arose as one nuin in ilenyinir its ex- 
istence and invei^hin*; against the physicians who had 
made what was termed "such a foolish declaration." For- 
tiiiiately, or unfortjinatcly, as s<ime may view the matter, 
the writer of this was the tirst one to diagnose the disease 
and proclaim the true nature of it, and, on account of this 
Injld declaration, his seal]) rest<'d uneasily on his head for 
some time. lie was ostracise<l, ami threats were freely 
made against this medical interlo]x»r, wiio was paralyzing^ 
all kinds of business by his wild assertions conci'rning tho 
nature of the first cases. The writer regrets to state that 
l>ut one othei' physician of the lx)rough. Doctor ,iulm K. 
Mant«'l, coincide<l with him in his diagnosis, although he 
extended an urgent invitation to a numl>er of the older 
niendters of his profession to visit his patients and investi- 
gate the matter for themselves. The foremost citizen of 
the iHimugh. at that time, was a very intelligent, but self- 
willed gentleman, wh<». in addition to being President of 
the borough, was I*resident of the tlun incipient Ohio & 
,Mississi])])i Railway ( 'omj>any. President of the Wabash 
Xaviiration Conijtany, and President of the Knox ( 'ounty 



OLD VINCENNES. 341 

Live Stock Insurance Company. Of course this gentleman 
was an influential num in town, and his dictum was held as 
law and gospel, from which no appeal could be taken. He 
stated that the disease, which had been pronounced Asiatic 
cholera, was nothing more than cholera morbus, such as 
he had seen in his native 'New England, and he forthwith 
proceeded to lecture the young disciple of Esculapius, and 
vehemently remonstrated with him for giving out false 
alaiins, to the great detriment of the borough's commercial 
and general interests. The young physician was obdurate,, 
and boldly stood his ground, and, after a warm discussion,, 
the Judge and Chief Magistrate of the town departed^ 
^vith a very bad opinion of, and a good slice of ill will for^ 
the 3^outhful doctor of medicine. The latter was com- 
pelled to endure the gibes and slurs of many of his fellow- 
citizens as best he could, and, as he was then comparatively 
a stranger here, he found his daily pathway not a bed of 
roses, nor were the thorns lacking. But he felt that this- 
state of things could not, and it did not, endure long, as 
cholera is no respecter of persons, and the high and the low 
who came into immediate contact with the dread scourge 
had to take chances alike in attempting to cope with its ma- 
lignancy. Some days following the outbreak of the disease 
in the family of Mr. J. 1). Watjen (the father of our- 
worthy fellow-townsman, II. J. Watjen, who can vouch- 
for the truth of the main facts presented), by its introduc- 
tion through an emigi-ant from Germany, a young married' 
man named Whitney, from the East, had been installed! 
here as an expert in insurance matters by the President of 
the Live Stock Insurance Company. This young man, the 
protege of the chief executive of the company, souglit ta 

L16J 



242 lIISTOincAl. SKKTC'IIKS 

make himself particularly olmoxions to the voun^ physi- 
<'ian who lia«l lut-n so 1k)1(1 as to pronounco the disejisi' 
cholera. The ortices <tf the lattx^r and those of the insurance 
eom])any were not far apart, in the old Jutlali Row, on 
Second street. As the clerk passed tlie door of the doctor 
on liis way to liis office, he would, occasionally, stop at his 
own door, and, placing his hands to his mouth sidewise, 
halloo derisively, in stentorian tones, "How's the chol- 
era ?" then dart in, laui;hin<; at what he thou<;ht was a cap- 
ital joke at the doctor's e.xpen.sc. l*oor, mis«i^uided, unfor- 
tunate man I lie tlun little dreamed of what was in store 
for himself. In less ihan two weeks from that time he 
com])lained of not feeling well, an<l, i^oini;" immediately 
home, sent for his doc-tor. (J. (1. Sliiimard, a very intelli 
gent gentleman, hut one who had a deadly horror of chol- 
era, lie at once diagnosed the case as one «d' cholera, went 
to his office for some medicine, and, ujxm his return to 
tile home of the young clerk, calling his wife to the 
d<M»r (fearing to g.» in), gave her the medicine and 
then, after a few directions, given hurriedly, left the 
yitung man to his fate. Kre the shades of night had 
enfolded mother eaiili in her mantle of darkness, he, 
to<», was nund»ere(l among the victims of the terri- 
hle scourge. A little time after this DcK-tor Shumard calle<l 
at the writer's office and asked to he jiermitted to lie in the 
student's he(l, for that day, as he did not wish any one to 
know his wherealHuits, "For," he remark(Ml, "every case 
<»f chidera I hear of brings on mc symptoms of the disease. 
What shall I do^" The writer answered that there werr- 
h\it tw(» things to do. in his estimation, to wit : oither leave 
for a hi'althier region, which, if he did. would ruin lii< 



OLD A^NCENNES. 243 

medical reputation, or stay and take his chances with the 
balance of his profession, which, if he did, would cause his 
death, so great was his fear. He chose the former horn of 
the dilemma, and immediately departed, and remained 
away until cold weather had set in, when he returned, set- 
tled up his affairs and went back to his former home in 
the State of Ohio. As before stated, this gentleman, not- 
withstanding his fear of cholera, was a good physician and 
surgeon, and subsequently became Captain Marcy's sur- 
geon and geologist in his Western exploring expedition in 
the United States sendee in the early fifties. He after- 
ward became the Surgeon-General of the Ohio Volunteer 
Militia, and lost his life during the Civil War. 

About this time, that is, during the earlier stages of 
this epidemic, when doul)ting Thomases ornamented every 
block corner, a man by the name of Lenipk, who lived 
on Hart street, and who had nursed the old German emi- 
grant who died with the disease at the Watjen resi- 
dence, on Water street, in a brick house opposite the Ameri- 
can hotel (now La Plante House), was taken ill. He was 
an Odd Fellow, and ^N^oble Grand John Caldwell called to 
his aid an eminent French physician, Doctor John Batty, 
then residing at Vincennes, who at once pronounced the 
disease to be cholera. And then what did that cholera mor- 
bus president and some of the m aligners of the young doc- 
tor do ? They incontinently lied east to the springs and 
elsewhere, and remained away until ''the frost was on the 
pumpkin, and the fodder was in the shock," fearing to face 
the music of Old Vincennes sooner. This is but a brief and 
softened sketch <if a phase or two of the cholera epidemic, 
as manv lau«iha1)le and tragic scenes enacted during 



244 HLSTUIULAL SKKTLliES 

that pcrijul are worthy oi reairtl. Of all the men who 
abiisoul the young physician who had boldly stood his 
ground and pronounced the disease to be cholera, and who 
had tric<l to make life unpleasant for him in the Iwrough, 
but one had the manliness and courage to nuike amends 
to him for the wrong inflicted; that was no other than the 
noble gentleman, William J. Ileberd, St., who came to him 
and said in a frank, honorable manner: "Doctor, I had 
said 1 would never employ you for injuring, as I conceived 
you were doing, the business of our town. I find that I 
was wrong, and, as a slight way of repairing the wrong in- 
flicted, I now ask y<^»u to become hereafter my family physi- 
cian." lie kept his word, and the writer was his family 
physician up to the day when he fell a coi-i^se in Peck's 
• Inig store, years aftenvard. 

Ill conclusion of the subject of epidemics, the writer will 
>ay that it is Ix^st for doctors to meet them S(puirely and 
fearlessly and do their full duty, and they will l>e the bet- 
ter prepared to combat them, trusting in an allwise Provi- 
dence to re('nforce their skill and energy. In thus meet- 
ing them they will Ix- better equipped to achieve a victory 
over them. With the advanced knowledge of bacteriology 
and its application in the cure of diseases, the physician of 
to(lay is more compotent to stay the ravages of <lisease 
than ever before. 



Chapter XI. 

MISCELLANEOUS, CONTINUED— THE PASTIME CLUB 
HOUSE. 

AMOj^Ct the old buildings of pretentious character, 
erected nearly three-quarters of a century ago, situ- 
ated on Second street, between Busseron and Broad- 
way, is the old Ellis mansion, constructed of sandstone 
and brick, with massive stone columns supporting the roof 
of the vestibule, the floor and steps of which are of like 
material, the j^roduct of a quarry situated some distance 
al)ove the city on the banks of the Wabash river. Another 
old building, of like character, now nearly, if not wholly, 
liidden from vicAv by the buildings erected in front of it, 
is the building of the Vincennes branch of the old State 
Bank of Indiana, whose pillars were razed, following the 
sale of the property, and worked intO' stepping stones, which 
may yet be seen in many parts of the city. The old Ellis 
mansion is fittingly occupied by the Pastime Club, a social 
society organized December -1-, 1885, and incorporated De- 
cember 23, 1889. The charter members numbered fifty, 
who were among the leading citizens. The first officers 
were: Robert B. Jessup, President; Mason J. Xiblack, 
Vice-President; H. J. Foulks, Secretary; E. J. Julian, 
Treasurer; Board of Directors: C. B. Kessinger, P. M. 
O'Donnell, E. P. Busse, R. B. Jessup, Jr., and H. J. 
Foulks. Tlie club has prospered and enjoys an enviable 
reputation. The society ofi'ers pleasant social opportuni- 

-245- 



24(5 HISTOKIi AL SKETCHES 

tit'S through the hitest paix-rs and nuigazines, inuocent 
games at cards, billiards and music, to its members; and 
invited guests, both at home and from abroad, have spent 
most delightful "past times" there. 

The present officers are: K. J. Julian, President; Ger- 
ard Reiter, Vice-President ; W. J. Freeman, Secretary' ; 
11. y. Somes, Treasurer, and Guy McJimsey, Sergeant- 
at-Arnis. The luenibership of the club is limited to 150. 

IHE FORTNIGHTLY CLUB. 

This is strictly a ladies' literary association, and was 
organized at the residence of ^frs. Helen B. Bayard, No- 
venil>er 11, 1881. The membei-ship was limite<l to fifty 
originally, but sul>sequently was increased to sixty. The 
first officers were: President, Mi-s. Helen B. Bayard; 
Secretary, ^frs. Alice J. Clark. Other members present at 
the organization were: Mrs. Ellen (iould, ^liss Lloyd 
Allen, Mrs. E. A. Bryan, Miss Ray Berry, Miss Sabra 
Cafher, Mrs. Ruth Davenport, Miss Katharine ^fcElvaine, 
Miss Clara DeWolf, ^liss Anna l)eW(df, ^Miss Ida Lusk, 
Mrs. John Steven Horton, ^Irs. Reul>en G. Moore, Miss 
Albertine !N[oore and Mrs. William Glover. The s«x;iety 
was incorjKtrated by the f<)ll<iwing memb<*rs. June 23, 
ISM 11 : ^Mi-s. Helen B. Bayard, .Mits Katharine McElvaine, 
Miss Clara DeWolf, Miss Alice J. Clark, ^liss Ida Lusk, 
^frs. J. S. Horton, Mrs. R. G. Moore and ^liss Albertine 
M<M»re. The present officers are: President, ^Irs. M. A. 
liosworth ; Vice-President, .Mrs. .Vlexander; Scrretary, 
^frs. AlV>ert Shepard ; Treasurer, Mrs. Charles Bierhaus; 
Executive Committee: ^Miss Lusk, Mrs. Doctor Man- 
chester, Mrs. H. B. Bayanl. Miss McElvaine and Mrs. M. 
A. Bosworth. 



OLD VINCENNES. 247 

COLUMBIA READING CLUB. 

The St. Francis Xavier Reading Club, a branch of the 
JSTational Oolmnbia Reading Clnb, whose headquarters 
are in ISTew York City, is a literary society, and was organ- 
ized in January, 1890, at the residence of Mrs. Helen 
Burk Bayard, with the following officers : President, Mrs. 
William Berry ; Secretary and Treasurer, Mrs. Helen B. 
Bayard ; Directors, Mrs. J. B. La Plante, Miss Katharine 
Green and Miss Anna Flynn. This society contained orig- 
inally eighteen active members. Subsequent to its organ- 
ization it combined with its labors benevolent work and 
has recently undertaken the noble labor of Iniilding a hos- 
pital for general use in this city. Through the indefatigable 
efforts of its members and the aid of the public their funds 
for thehospital have gone beyond the thousand dollar mark. 
Their idea in assuming this herculean task of love and 
mercy was to honor and perpetuate tlie memories of Gen- 
eral George Rogers CUark, who, through his strategy, skill 
and indomitable will secured the great ]^orthwest to the 
LTnion from the British Government, and Father Pierre 
Gibault, who rendered General Clark invaluable services 
in giving him information and winning over the French 
inhabitants to the American cause. Each one of these dis- 
tinguished and noble patriots deserve imperishable monu- 
ments erected to their memory in this city. 

Through the vicissitudes of time this society's numbers 
have fallen to fourteen. The present officers are : Presi- 
dent, Mrs. J. B. La Plante ; Secretary and Treasurer, Miss 
Clementine Weisert ; Directors, Mrs. Schuyler Beard, Mrs. 
John D. LaCroix and Mrs. Helen B. Bavard. 



248 lIlSTdlllCAL SKETCHES 

PALACE CLUB. 

The Palace Club was organized starch 1, 1897, \\'ith a 
list of sixtv-oiie siihscriixjrs, when the foUowins: officers 
Avero chosoii: President, A. G. ^leisa; VicA^Prcsident, 
II. (i. ('. I'oiiiil: Sccntarv, F. W. Twcitnieyer ; Treasurer, 
K. II. Friiiirc; Sci-ofi-ant-at-Arnis, li. J. l^id. The char- 
acter «»f this institution is social and littrarv, and offers 
a pleasant ivtreat for young gentlemen when not engaged 
in husiness. Its reading niom is supplied with jnurnals 
and niagazin«*s, current literature, an<l a piano for exer- 
cise in musical coni])ositions. Other nntnis are titte<l up 
foi- hilliards and lighter games, for amusement to while 
away idle hours, and for rest to the mind after weary hours 
of absorbing, wearing t^iil, battling with the problems of 
life. This ass<K'iation has proven a success, as its influence 
has bt^n elevating in it< tendency aii<l cliaraeter. ami leads 
to the higher walks of life. 

The club is domiciled in a |)lea.sant, comm(»<lious build- 
ing, on the c<n*ner of Ilait and Secon<l stre<'ts, and ac- 
cessible to all parts of the city by the street railway. The 
present officers are as follows: President, ( . V. Scheid ; 
Vice-President, II. (J. Miller; Secretary, II. F. Hoffman; 
Treasurer, .1. b. Baker; Sergeant-at-Arnis, \V. ('. Te<'hner; 
Directors, Fd. II. Frigge, b. F. Tliuis, 11. \. Keller. 
Present memlMTslijp. forty-fonr. 



OLD VINCENNES. 349 

AMERICAN HOTEL. 

The site of the present La Phmte Hotel, on the corner of 
Main and Water streets, was formerly occupied by the 
American ELotel, which hostelry was conducted by Mr. 
John C. Clark, from about 1825 to 1852. One of his 
•daughters, Mrs. Sheridan Isaacs, is living in Edmund, 
Oklahoma, and many of his grandchildren, prominent in 
society, are residing here. It was the leading hotel in the 
town for many years. Shortly after the writer came to this 
city, in 1819, the wife of the landlord was thrown from her 
I)uggy, on the country road between this town and Law- 
renceville. 111., and fatally hurt. She was as genial and 
pleasant a lady as the writer ever met. While the waiter 
Avas eating supper at the hotel, one evening during the sum- 
mer of 1849, a full grown deer, supposedly being chased by 
Iiounds, jumped over the yard fence, facing Main street. 
Tan back through the premises, leaped the back fence and 
fled beyond the city limits. This episode served to demon- 
•strate the fact that game was plentiful about the to^\ai in 
those days. This old hotel conier was a memorable spot 
to old inhabitants who resided here fifty years ago, by rea- 
son of its having been the scene of a conflagration. It was 
the site of a store, occupied by John D. Hay, a merchant 
who emigi-ated hither in the year 1803, who was one of 
Governor Harrison's troops at the battle of Ti]")pecanoe. 
This corner was the principal public place in the city, and 
whenever the militia mustercMl, which they frequently did 
in early years, they made their best maneuvers in front of 
the old American Hotel, as is shown in the illustration. On 
an elevated porch, at the side of tlie building on Water 



OLD VINCENNES. 251 

street, can be seen an elderly gentleman, ''Deacon" Taylor, 
with little Lanra, a child of the landlord, in his arms. This 
occurrence took place more than sixty years ago. Waller 
Taylor was a Major in Harrison's army at the battle of 
Tippecanoe, and was at the side of Colonel Joe Daviess 
and Thomas Randolph when they fell mortally wounded ; 
he was the one who had these two gallant patriots buried 
side by side ; and he it was wlio cut their initials on the side 
of the tree under which they found their last resting place, 
in order that the spot might be known if future occasion 
required. Randolph was a cousin of the celebrated John 
Randolph, of Roanoke, Va. Major Taylor was chosen one 
of the first United States Senators who went from Indi- 
•ma, upon its admission to the Union in 1816. 

The old hotel was located within a block, and on the 
north of where the old fort stood, and commanded the 
Main street ferry landing on the Wabash river, and was 
at one time headquarters for merchants and traders from 
all parts of the country. 

PRISON. 

During the first period of our Civil Government, prisons 
and jails were used not only to incarcerate criminals, but 
for the imprisonment of debtors ; however, the latter class 
were not exactly incarcerated in the jails, but were con- 
fined to certain boundaries, beyond wdiich they were not 
permitted to go. In 1808 an order was passed that, "no 
objection being made by the creditors, and the debtor mak- 
ing oath that he possessed neither personal or real property, 
he should be released," and then and there imprisonment 
for debt was accordingly abolished in the Territory. The 



252 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

rc'conls ilisc'lo.se :i (U-scriptiou (jf one of tlit'se *'(lel>t(»r's lim- 
its," as it were, and it is a curiosity and unique, to say the 
least, and is wortliy of nicnrion here. It reads as follows: 
"Hepnninir at low water niai'k on the Wahash, on the 
street between Antoinc Mariehall and Margaret Ganie- 
lin's; thence down said street to the lower corner of James 
Pnrcell's; thence up to St, Louis street; thence up said 
street, including the same, to the corner of John Ochil- 
tn'c's ln»use, next to Thomas ('oulter's; thence up the 
strtH't, l)etwe<'n ( 'oultei-'s and ( )chiltree's to dames Kreliy's 
lot ; from thence to the corner of the lot opposite the widow 
Hnmillette's ; thence down that street leading to II. Van- 
derhurir's, to the place' of beginning, including the 
streets." It is sup|30sed the delin(|uent debtors knew the 
deviations of the boundaries outlined and governed them- 
stdves accordingly. 

Criminal prisoners were tirst incarcerated in the case- 
mate at Fort Knox, ami later on in a temporary jail until 
a |X'rmanent structure was erected in 1S03, on the comer 
of Thinl and Biintin streets, where the residence of B. 
Kidui now stands. Kobert Slaughter was placed in this jail 
for the murder of Jo8e]>h Harbin, and was execute<l in 
ISO.'j, it being the first execution under the civil rule. 

T'pon the removal of the court house to its present loca- 
tion, a new jail and residence for the sheriff was built on 
the n«>rthwest corner of the court scpuire. on Seventh 
street. 



OLD VINCENNES. 253 

OLD COTTON FACTORY. 

One of the notable buildings still standing is tlie Old 
Cotton Factory, erected bv David S. Bonner about the year 
1825. The building has withstood the storms of time and 
the yandalism of man, and after passing through many 
and varied vicissitudes, still stands a monument to the 
enterprise of its builder, after the lapse of nearly a cen- 
tury of time. It stands on the half-square facing southwest, 
on Bamett street, between Second and Third streets. 

Many of the present generation, now resident in this 
city, are unaware of the fact that not only cotton manu- 
factures, but the cultivation of the staple itself, were 
among the important industries of this ]>lace at one time. 
One of our old citizens, Mr. Elbridge Gardner, now passed 
into the eighties, informed the writer that one of the pretti- 
est cotton patches he ever saw was on the lot now occupied 
by the Vincennes University. He said that the white 
bursting from the bolls of the densely set green plants was 
a beautiful sight, and it made a lasting impression on his 
mind that can be eradicated only by death. 

Cotton raising, spinning and weaving were the order of 
the day at one time in this town, and were the chief in- 
dustries of the people. But as the South became settled 
and greater yields of the fleecy staple were reported from 
that section of the country, in connection with the increased 
facilities for manufacturing in the East, the old factory's 
spindles and looms were diverted to the manufacture of 
woolen goods. In later years the building ceased alto- 
gether to be used for its original purpose, and became the 
domicile of the ISTovelty Manufacturing Company, by 



OLD VINCENNES. 255 

which industry it was used until the erection of its own 
present building, on the outskirts of the city, to the west 
and near the river, and on the site where George Rogers 
Clark maneuvered when about to attack Fort Sackville 
in ''ye olden tyme." The Old Cotton Factory building is 
now being utilized as a general storage room. 

Mr. Bonner, the builder of the Old Cotton Factoiy, 
■erected a large three-story brick building on the corner of 
Second and ]\Iain streets, using the lower rooms for stores 
(ajid for which purpose they are still used), more than 
three-quarters of a century ago, and yet, today this build- 
ing is in a good state of preservation. 

BONNER MANSION. 

What is now known as the Allen House, corner of Fifth 
and Main streets, and owned and occupied by Mrs. Sallie 
Allen, widow of the late Colonel C. M. Allen, Sr., a distin- 
^lislied attorney of this city and who contributed much to 
its grdwtli during his life, was built by David S. Bonner, 
about the year 1822, which was then considered the finest 
and costliest house in the town. The building sets back 
thirty feet from the street, the premises originally occupy- 
ing a quarter of a block and are today adorned by beautiful 
shade trees of maple and European linden of forty-five 
years' gi'owth. This house is three stories in height, exclu- 
sive of basement, and is eml)ellished with a large portico, 
rising above the basement, with sandstone floor and steps, 
supporting large ornamental fluted columns, which in turn 
support the roof of the portico. The building is connnand- 
ing in appearance, contains a large hallway with large airy 
rooms opening into the same, and the ceilings are unusu- 



•^50 IllSTuKiLAL SKETCHES 

ally lii«xli. Alriioujtrli thrce-inuirtcrs of a centurv ukl, it 
l(K»kj5 as if, with care, it would witli.stand the corr(»din<:; ele- 
ments of time for anotlier three-quarters of a centurv. 

MorNDS. 

It has been said when N'incennes was first settled, that on 
its site was a large iiionud and that it eontaine<l a vault in. 
which skeletons of huiiiau l>eings were found closely packed, 
top'ther. As iu> authentic evidence can Ik* found of thia 
mound, it is prestuiied the report originated when the orig- 
inal hurving-place of the Catholic church was changed. 
Then skeletons were found, after excavation> wei-e nuide^ 
when they were given new sepulture. 

However this nuiy he. there are three notahle mounds, 
in the vicinity of the city that are deemed worthy of record. 
Thev are doubtless many centuries old, as the composition 
')f them would indicate from the strata, as many years, 
must have (dapsed while tluw were being built : and these 
strata may have iiiarke<l eras in their formation. The 
names given to these mounds are ''Pyramidal Mound,"" 
"Sugar Loaf ^Nfoimd" and '*Terrace<l ^Ioun<l." The di- 
nuMisions of Pyramidal .\round are, from east to west three 
hundred feet and ffoiii north to south one hundred and 
fifty feet. The area (d' the level sunnnit is fiftx^'U by fifty 
feet, and it is fifty-seven feet high. Sugar Loaf ^found i.9 
two hundred and sixteen feet by one hundred and eighty 
feet, and has a heiirht of forty-four feet. The Terraced 
Alound is the largest one, having a diameter at its base of 
three hundred and sixty feet, from east to west, an<l two 
hundrcfl and eighty feet from north to south ; its altitude is 
sixty-seven feet. There is a winding path to the summit,. 



OLD VINCENNES. 257 

which commands a beautiful view of the city and the 
surrounding country for many miles in Indiana and across 
the river into Illinois. The purpose for which these 
mounds were made is only conjectural. They may have 
been intended for points of observation. 

The strata of these mounds are composecl. of alternate 
layers of sand, charcoal and bones. Or, as these mounds 
seem to be centrally located and much larger than adjacent 
ones in this county, and those in adjoining counties, vhey 
may have been the theater of ceremonials indulged in by 
congregated hosts of a great confederacy once existing in 
this part of the Northwest. The exploration of them and 
the results achieved do not warrant the conclusion that 
they were simply places of sepulture. And yet who knows 
what their deepest depths might reveal? But for what 
purpose they were designed and made Avill likely be to the 
end of time an unsolved problem. The unique character 
of them, containing the elements of methodical purpose, 
conspires to invite a close and exhaustive examination by 
the antiquarian. 



'l:| 



Chapter XII. 



GOVERNOR WILLIAM HENRY HARRISONS RESIDENCE, 

HIS POWWOW WILH TECl'MSEH. AND HIS 

TIPPECANOE CAMPAIGN. 

Til IS (.1(1 territorial house has hoeii a j)ro]ifie theme of 
roiiianeos of writers. Traveliii"^- eorresj)on<lents 
have viewed it fnun a passing;- railroad train, piiued 
a little iiiisinforiiiation, and forthwith indite<l lengthv arti- 
cles jj;iving minute descriptions, often with an enjjraving of 
tlie house, as veritable histi>rv, wlien in fact mueii of their 
lu('ul»rati(»ns were hut tiotions. Some writers have t<tld of 
a suhtei raiieau jtassage leadinu' from the hotise to the river 
— under a "blutf ;'' others of a mauazine in the basement 
for storing munitions of war, and a dungeon for the safe- 
keeping of eriminals and prisoners of war ; and of a council 
chamber where the Territorial scions met to discuss grave 
matters of state; ami looph<des for sharpsh(M>ters to use in 
case of an attack by In<lians. etc. 

It seems timely that the Hetioiis relating to the building 
should b<' i)rusluMl aside and the light of truth turned on 
it. With this end in view T have availed myself of all the 
facts of current histories an<l from a few ag(^l ]>eople who 
yet survive, that were lioni in the eity in the early ]>art of 
this c<*nturv and are ]>osscssed of facts observed and tra- 
ditions hamle<l down to them fnun their ancestors, to get 
all the information 1 eoidd ndatiug thereto and now submit 
the same. 

—25*— 




GOVERNOR \V. H. HARRISON'S RESIDENCE, BUILT IN 1804. 



260 IIISTOIUCAL SKETCHES 

General William Ilenrv Harrison, havino^ been appoint- 
ed Governor of Indiana Territ4)rv, arrived in Vinoj'nnes 
in the spring of ISOl. There being no suitable building 
for hinisf'If and family to occupy, on his arrival, it is re- 
eorde<l and generally U'lievcd. that Colonel Franeis Vigo, 
a wealthy anil stanch friend of the Government, who 
had just completed a fine frame house near the center of 
the block on Second street, v/here the opera building now 
stands, tendered his house to General Harrison for his 
ncrupaney until a siiitable residence eoidd 1k' obtaine<l or 
built, but the latter refused to aetu'jyt any but the lar^ 
j)arIor. It is not known whether he continual to remain 
in this building until his own was complete<l or not, the 
same Wdng contracte<l for in 1S05, but not complet(»<l until 
180<». Tlic iiiiiiu building is a two-story brick, wirii base- 
ment, s(|uare <»n three sides, being oval on the west side, 
facing the River Wabash and is located inland alxMit 000 
feet; there lieing a gi'adual descent from it to the bank. 

By f>ne historian its cost is said to have been $20,000, 
a sum prcibably in ke<'ping with the cost of skilled labor 
and material ui^i'A to construct it, ]u-evailing at that early 
day on the JMirder nf civilization. TJie walls of the bas(v 
ment are twenty-four inches thick, the upper ones eighteen 
inches; it has been stated that the brick of which it was 
built were imported from T*ittsburgli, but it is a generally 
agrrH"*! tad that tluy were uuinufactured a few miles east 
of the city by tlie Thompson Brothers, one of the party 
l>eing the grandfather of our fellow-citizen, Samuel Thomp- 
son, they receiving for their labor two half sections of land. 
The doors, sa.sb, mantels and stairs were either made at 
Chillicothe. (X. (►r Pittsburgh, Pa., it beiuir a matter of 



OLD VINCENNES.- 261 

dispute as to tlie place where they were inaiuifactiirech Be 
tliat as it may, the material was of walnut and its work- 
manship in the highest style of art of that day and will 
compare favorably with that of the most costly residences 
of the present time. The timbers of the house are twice 
the dimensions of those used in modern building's, giving 
it a most substantial character. Between the flooring and 
joists there is a three or four inch thickness of a mortar 
composed of straw and clay to deaden sounds. The base- 
ment contains a dining-room, a kitchen in which hangs 
the old fashioned crane of Colonial times ; a storeroom, one 
seemingly built for a detention cell, without a window, 
supposedly for unruly servants, and four servants' living 
rooms. There is no evidence existing to show that there 
was a subterranean passage from the basement to the river 
under the ^^luff," and there is no evidence to indicate 
that a bluff ever existed at or near the house, as has been 
printed. The underground passage is therefore as myth- 
ical as the alleged ''bluff." I have been somewhat familiar 
with the mansion and premises for nearly fifty years, hav- 
ing hail patients in it when it was used as a boarding house 
by James Gatton and having recently talked with his sur- 
viving widow, who was at an early date familiar with every 
nook and corner in the building for years, and I can not 
obtain any tangible evidence that a subterranean passage 
ever existed leading from the building, x^nd as to the 
alleged portholes, in the basement, through which small 
cannons might be tired at attacking forces, no evidence 
exists, and the only opening observable are the windows 
used for light and ventilation. The storeroom is doubt- 
less the one alluded to by a recent historical contributor 



2(\-i lIlSTolMi AL SKF/rclIKS 

\v'.:o said, "Anntlii-r ivmmii was a wine cellar. Tlic Harri- 
sons were ^ckkI livrrs ami were surrnimdcil hv Fniich 
sfttlcrs who wcri' cxjicrts in wine inakiiii:-.*' The inference 
to In' drawn from this statement is tliat N'inccnnos, at an 
earlv date, hoasted of its sjdeMdid vineyards; hnt if it jios- 
stssed t'.iem, neitln-r history nor tradition leave us any au- 
tiientie record i»f the same. Fifty years ajfo there were 
not more than a few hundred fjrapevines cidtivated in the 
country, and tliese were of the ('at:uv1)a variety an<l existed 
oi:Iy ill a few ^arileiis, .Indue •lolm Mooi-e and Ilnnorahle 
(v. Pouljet haviuir the most. Besides, this ^rajte makes 
only an indifferent sour wine and is now (|nite out of (hite. 
FreneliiiK 11 an 1 wine-iirowinir e.xjierts are not (piite syn- 
onymous; and if that (dass of ])eoj)le here were exp.'rts in 
wine-making, and the country once cimtaincd tine vine- 
yards, the jirocess has heconie a lost art and. as F^x-Presi- 
deiit ( levehind wouM say, it has fallen into "inocuous 
(h'suetude." Tlie same authority says that "in it (the 
wiin' ro«im ef the mansion) was stored, for several years, 
all the 'i'erritorial powder, hullets and tlint-lock and smooth 
!»» r«' rifles aii<l oilier weapons of defense." The idea or 
th<iu,udit < f any man inakinj^ his domicile over a mapi^.ine, 
where comhustihles were stored, which mijrht he exploded 
at any time, l»y accident or desi<rn, is too inconirruous for 
l)elief and too horrible to contemplate. What was the fort 
for l)Ut to contain stores, munitions (»f war and soldiers to 
n.v the same when neeiled ? On the first floor, ahove the 
basement, is a cominodiou>» hallway ('ommunieatinir with 
rooms adjoining; and with one.; above by an easy, bnmd 
s.airv.ay f)f the finest make and finish. On enteriuir the 
ball, the first room to the left is the parlor, havinij been 



OLD VINCENNES. 263 

incorrectly, I think, called council chamber. It is spa- 
cious, its dimensioiis being 32-^x22^ feet, with a thirteen 
foot ceiling; the west wall being oval in fomi and facing 
the river. This room was doubtless the Governor's re- 
ception room, and where he often entertained many guests, 
who were then, or became distinguished and historical per- 
sonages in after times ; but it is not to be supposed, or is it 
probable, that this room was ever used for Territorial 
legislative purposes. All of the other rooms are spacious 
and finished in the same high style of art of that period. 
Inside and outside shutters or blinds were fitted to all the 
windows, of the same walnut material and finish. A slat, 
in one of the shutters in a room facing the south, about 
five feet above the floor, has a bullet hole in it, said to have 
been the result of a ball fired from a gun by an Indian one 
night, with the intent of assassinating the Governor, while 
he was walking the room with his little son in his anus. 
Its sight calls up pictures and memories of the savage past^ 
and the perils that our forefathers underwent at that early 
period. The house contains a total of twenty-one rooms 
exclusive of the garret, which, although never finished, 
commands some beautiful natural pictures from its out- 
look, which those of aesthetic tastes would enjoy if viewed 
therefrom. There are two verandas, one attached to the 
side of the building facing the east, and the other to the 
front, looking- southwest ; and it was in front of this portico, 
under the shade of some trees a hundred and fifty feet 
away, that Harrison and Tecumseh, the noted warrior 
chief, held their exciting and memorable pow-wow. Just at 
this point in the history of the old building it would seem 
])ertinent to advert to the circumstances that led up to the 



x;04 HISTUKIUAL SKETCHES 

holding of tlie council. Evidences had Ikvu iiinnifestcd 
that the adjacent tril>es of Indians were ill at ease and dis- 
posed to turldilenee and attacks. The Shawnee vilhiire, lo- 
cated near where La Fayette now is, and where the battle 
of Tippecanoe was fought, was under the control of the 
l*ro])het, a brother of Tecuniseli and the recognized spirit- 
ual leader of that and adjacent tribes; and to his machina- 
tions tiie disturbances were attributed. Early in the year 
of 1811 Grov^enior Harrison, with a view to ascertaining 
the cause of the dissatisfaction of the Prophet and, if pos- 
sible, ])acifv inni, deputeti one of his most sagacious and 
trusty a<lvisers, with a competent inteqireter, to hold a 
ccmncil with him and his chiefs, embracing his brother 
warrior chief, Ttvuniseh. It is learne<l from history that 
tiiese gentlemen ari'ived at the village one evening an<l were 
receive«l in an a]>p:irently friendly manner by the Prophet 
and assigned a tent for the night, with an agreed appoint- 
ment for a council the next morning. It is said the 
Prophet's wife was considered a queen among the Indian 
women, as well as by her husband. Before retiring for 
the night tin* inter])ret<'r observed an unusual stir among 
the S(puiws, ami motions made toward their tent, and 
cauglit menacing glanci'S and gestures toward them, and 
.«;o told the ambassador, but be nnide light of the nuitter and 
the interpniei's suspicions that tn^achery was int<'n<let1, 
and when night came he was soon asleep in peace and (piiet. 
I>ut not so witl) the vigilant interpreter, who kept awake, 
antl had his guns near at hand. Al^iut midnight a tap was 
heard at the door and his name, in the Shawnee language, 
wsis calle«l. Tie found Tecumseh at the d(»r. He had 
called to warn him of impending assassination by the 



OLD VINCENNES. 265 

Queen and sqnaws, avIio had held a council and determined 
on their death in spite of the protests of himself and 
others, who told them it would be base treachery to kill 
messengers of peace, who were their visitors. He told the 
visitors to rise and go with him. They went silently 
through the village and down into a wooded ravine near the 
river, when a noise was made, as if to call wild turkeys, 
sounds well recognized by all hunters in early days; an 
answer was returned, and soon two men appeared with 
the ambassador's horses, which they speedily mounted and 
rode swiftly away, accompanied by the two guides fur- 
nished by Tecumseh, and were soon well on their return 
trip to Vincennes. Although Tecumseh hated the whites 
and would have delighted to slay them in battle, he was 
too bra-^'e and noble in character himself to permit his fol- 
lowers to commit cold-blooded murder, and so the messen- 
gers of the Governor were saved from a cruel death by his 
foresight and magnanimity. Subsequently the Grovernor 
sent word to tlie Propliet to send Tecumseh and other chiefs 
to meet him in council with a view to establishing lasting 
friendly relations ; and about the 1st of August following 
Tecumseh appeared in the vicinity of Vincennes, and sent 
word to the Governor he would meet him in council. One 
account place<l his followers at three hundred ; other ac- 
coinits of his arrival placed the nund>er at less than one 
hundred. The latter doubtless approximates the correct 
nund)er of warriors who accompanied him. The Governor 
appointed the following day for the meeting. In the 
meantime he notified his friends, and a company of sol- 
diers, to be present as a guard, and having placed another 
hundred fully equipped in his parlor, to meet contingen- 



•.^(i<; HISTOIIK AL SKK'R'llKS 

cies, sli<)ul<l till- fiiuiicil i»r<>vt' trcaclicrniis aiul Ik'c'ohu' Ih-I- 
ligertMit, he jtroeeecled t<» have scats j)laco(l in a ^rovefront- 
iiiir flic rcsi<lcncc, alMuit two lminlrc(l feet awav. liv iiieas- 
ni-enient aiul falcnlatitin I tiinl the r»M»in fuUv la rj^e enough 
to contain the secrete<l C(Mii])anv. At tin- appointed time 
Tccinnseh arrived- and touml the Governor seatc(l on one 
of the iM'uchcs, prepared for tlie council, and some histt)- 
riaiis sav that he extended to the chief a cordial greeting, 
inviting him to take a seat beside or near him, saving to 
him it was the wish of the Great Father, the President of 
the Tnited States, that he shoidd do s«t. Tecumsch. it is 
said, glancing around at the s(ddiers drawn up neai- liy„ 
looked furtivelv at Harrison and then, UM»king upward, 
said: **^^y Father I The Sun is my father, the Earth is 
my mother, and on her lx»som I will nndine;*' and, so say- 
ing, cast himself on the green sward. Whether this grand- 
ilo<|uent sjx-eeh was actually uttei-ed l»y the Indian chief, 
or was the emanation of some ardent admirer of him, will 
never he known; however, there are reasons to doubt its 
lealiiy. Hut. as the reputed ejusode is a pretty conceit, for 
that reason it should maintain a ]>lace in the history of 
the transaction. Yet as tt) the main facts about what oc- 
curred at the meeting an<l its locality, there can W but little 
donbt. as ample testimony exists to establish the point at 
issue to any rcasttnable seeker after trutli. ^^^lat occurred 
at this meeting was related to me nearly fifty years ago by 
Ks«|uire Rol)ei*t ^fcCMure, a native and a very intelligent 
and observing gentleman, long since dead. Tic said the 
council was held under the shade of S4>me walnut tnn's in 
front of the Tfarrison mansion, two hundred feet away. 
He said he was a mere lad then, but he remendKM'cd not 



OLD YINCENNES. 267 

only the place of the ineetina,', l)iit nianv tliing-s that then 
trans]nre(l. He represented the scene as dramatic from 
the beginning, when Tecnmseh refnsed to be seated by 
the side of the Governor, preferring one on the green 
sward. After the preliminary compliments of the actors, 
Harrison told Tecnmseh that he had heard that dissatis- 
faction olitained with the Indians, and for that reason he 
desired a conference with him, and had invited him and his 
chiefs to meet him in conncil, in order to disabuse his mind 
as to the feelings and intentions of the white settlers and 
that of the Government of the United States. He said the 
Government had ever been the friend of the Indians, and 
had ahvays treated them kindly and jnstly. In reply, Te- 
cnmseh, throngh the interpreter, Barron, told the Governor 
in an excited manner that he lied ; when as quick as a flash 
Harrison arose to his feet and drew his sword to resent the 
insult, ])ut his friends, surrounding him, prevented the 
blow. Terrible excitement prevailed for a while, and a 
general battle seemed imminent between the Indians, sol- 
diers and citizens, ^¥llen the tumult had somewhat calmed, 
the Governor summarily dismissed Tecnmseh, telling him 
his language was such that he would hold no further con- 
versation with him; and the chief retired with his braves 
up the river to his camping ground. On the following day 
Tecnmseh, repenting his rashness, sent a messenger to 
the Governor requesting another meeting, to which he ac- 
ceded provided the chief would apologize for the insulting 
language he had used, and come only with a few Itraves. 
The meeting was held but the principals parted without 
perfect agTcement on a peaceful basis. That the council 
was held in front of the veranda looking southwest under 



268 HISTUKICAL SKETCHES 

sonic shadt' trees al»i»ut t\vt» liuiidrod feet awav tliere can 
be little doubt. The venerable A. I!. McKee, a nono- 
irenarian,* told the writer that his opinion, based on infor- 
mation gained from an eye witness, manv years ago, is 
that the meeting of Harrison and Tecumseh occurred at 
the point named above, and in the shade of some walnut 
trees. Mr. Vital Bouchie, a native Frenchman of this 
city, now upward of ninety years old, coincides with the 
o])inion of .\rr. ^IcKec. 

The testimony of Judge John Law, a distinguishe<l law- 
yer and an cx-memlxT of Congress from this city and con- 
grcssional district, who settled here in ISIT, shortly after 
the famous council was held, and while yet its place 
and transactions were fresh in the memory of the citizens, 
agrees with the two former witnesses, and should l>e held 
as conchisive as to the locality, but he does not state the 
kind of ii-ccs under which the meeting took place. In his 
puMislied liistory of \'incennes he says: "The coiincil was 
held in an nj)eii lawn l»cforc the Governor's house, in a 
grove of trees wliieh then surrounded it. But only two of 
these, I regret to say, are now remaining." John Law's 
residence for manv years was only a few humlred feet 
southwest of the Ilarristm residena\ 

The ihniv ill the southwest side ojhmis into a hall which 
c<»mniuni<*ates with the lowiT ntoms and stairway; the drnir 
on tlu' east side is less ])retcntious and communiaites with 
a single room ; and, hence, it must be concluded that the 
ffiJiit nf the ln>iis(> faced suiitliward. looking in the <lirection 
of the locjility where the pow-wow was held, as that was 
"iiefore the (Jovenior's house." 

^Recently (lie<l. 



OLD VINCENNES. 26^ 

On my arrival in this city a little more than fifty years 
ago, I remember to have noticed two trees, which were al- 
luded to by Judge Law. In that year the title to the Harri- 
son premises passed to B. C. Annstrong, who, it was said, 
during his brief ownership of the property, acted the van- 
dal, in slaying the historical and other trees merely for 
firewood, when fuel could have been then purchased for 
about one dollar per cord prepared for immediate use. The 
spot having been verified where the conference took place, 
I sought to ascertain the character of the trees, and, with 
that object in vie^v, I visited the present owner of the 
property, and asked him if he had ever seen any evidence 
of a grove of trees about where his paper mill stands. His 
reply was that, in clearing away and leveling the ground, 
preparatory to erecting the buildings, the stumps of three 
trees were noticed forming a triangle, being about forty or 
fifty feet apart, A pick was obtained and the stump of a 
tree was found just in front of his ofiice, fifteen feet away ; 
in a moment it was laid bare, and parts of two of the roots 
were unearthed and broken oft". The roots were sawed in 
twain to observe the color and character of the grain. Those 
present pronounced the roots to be walnut timber. An ex- 
pert dealer in woods, Mr. Heathcote Mcllvaine, had a like 
opinion, and, in cleaning them of clinging sand, the dark 
wahnit stain, a crucial test, Avas in evidence so abundantly 
as to turn the water to ink Idaek color. 

Hence I think it follows, from the evidence adduced, 
that the location of the spot where the famous Harrison 
and Tecumseh council was held, and the character of the- 
grove have been clearly and fully demonstrated. 



2T0 IIISTolfK AL SKKTCllKS 

riu' old iiuinsiou, niuler the li^lit nf truth, will lose none 
of its ln'auties and fascinations hv dispcllinjr from it the 
nehnln' of <rau/.v fahles, thrown around it hy fane_v-wea\'- 
inir, jtorijKitctic <'orr(*sjMind('iits. It is a hist<»rical relic 
which has an intrinsic value of its own, and needs no 
vencerinp or fnrl)ishin^ to make it ever dear to those who 
chcrisii memories of the fading past. As a nuitter of his- 
torv. jxrt incut in this exmnection, and a result «»f this fa- 
mous council which cidminatcd in the hattle of 'ri]>i><H'anoe 
and tlie final overthrow of the Projdiet's and Twumseh's 
power in Indiana Territorv, it would Ik* wi-ll to state the 
main |)oint <if the controversy which led up to it. Some 
time previous the Government had made treaties and pur- 
<'h:is('d lands from some of the In<lian trihcs. Tecumseh 
<'hiini('il that a confederacy existed, of the various trihes, 
and that neither one could alienate its lands without the 
consent (d' the whole. Governor Harrison dissente<l from 
the contentions of the chief, and hence a ]>eacef\d un<ler- 
stiinding was im]K>ssihle. So at the conclusion id the second 
council Tecumseh and alwMU twenty hraves started south 
in their canoe,s d<»wn the river, Before comin<; to Vincennes 
it is said he had exacto<l a promise from his hrother, the 
Pro])het, that he wonid not engage in a war with the whites 
in his al>sence. Harrison, sus)x>ctinir tiiat Tecumseh's trip 
south hodcd evil (and it so turncil out that his nnssion was 
afterward learned to he to form alliances witii the tribes 
along the Ohio and ^Hssissipjii rivers), determined, after 
considering the outc<tme of the council, and tiie ])rece<ling 
episode, when his amhassador to Prophet town harely es- 
capcil assassinatii>n. t<> |>rcp:irc for a visit to the PrDphcl 
and ^<iMire an amicahlc or an ciifnnMMl p<'acc, it nc<'ds l»c. 



OLD YINCENNES. 271 

In- battle. Before starting to the Tippecanoe village, he re- 
ceived accessions to his little army from Kentucky, aug- 
menting- it to about seven hundred efficient men. Being 
thus prepared to cope with any hostile force he would likely 
encounter, he left for the Tippecanoe village about Octo- . 
l>er 1, stopping at Terre Haute to build a fort (naming it 
Fort Harrison), after which he proceeded north on his 
mission, arriving at the mouth of Vermillion creek October 
31, where he built a block-house for the reception and pro- 
tection of stores. 

On the night of ^STovember 6 he arrived in the vicinity 
of the village, still maintaining a friendly demeanor to- 
ward the Indians, and, meeting the Prophet's ambassadors, 
assured them of his peaceful intentions, and a council was 
agreed on, to be held the next day. That night passed off 
quietly until 4 o'clock a. m. of the 7th, when his forces were 
attacked without warning, and the battle of Tippecanoe 
Avas fought, against odds (the Indians numbering eight 
hundred and on their chosen ground), and won, breaking 
the power forever of the Indians in this part of the West, 
and bringing peace to the long suffering settlers. Tecum- 
seh, returning from the South after the battle, Avas so cha- 
grined that he went North and joined the English, and 
was slain in the battle of River Raisin. 

The vicissitudes through which the old mansion has 
]mssed, during the j.ast seventy-live years, have been many 
and varied. After the Harrisons left it, the building was 
used as a dwelling, as a school house, warehouse for storing 
e-rain, and for a hotel, and much of the time it remained 
unoccupied, and was a great resorting place for imagina- 
tive, idle youths, fond of adventure, who, amid the dark 



272 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

labvrinthian cellars, conjured up spooks and subterraneous 
passages, upon which they could <lilato up>n in rehearsals 
to their less favored but credulous friends. 

The lands on which the Harrison residence was built 
comprised lots Xo. 1. l', :} and 4 in upper prairie sur\'ey, 
which enihraccil all of the river front, fnmi Hickman to 
Hart street, running back to the Highland foot-hills, and 
containetl 280 acres. The ground on which the house 
stands, and that constituting originally the yard, garden 
and outlots, cnihraced all of that v.hich is Ixmnded by the 
river on the west. Sc<»tt street on the south, by Park on the 
east and by wluit is now calleij Harris(»n street on the north, 
this latter street being known originally as Perry. In Sep- 
teiiilK'r, 1S1.'>, the ]>lat of IIarris(»n's addition was made 
aii<l legali/ed by an act of the Legislature on January 3, 
1^17. lliis pint emhraeed that port inn id' the hind reaching 
fmni the river to Seventh .street, then called Trotier street. 
The remaining portions of this land is endu'aced in ( 'och- 
ran's, ^ialott's and Shepard's additions to the city of Vin- 
cennes. 

On dnne L''i, l>i'l, (invernor W. H. Harrison dee<led 
the projMTty to his son, John Cleaves Symes Harrison. 
From his estate it jiassed into the possession of I):i\id C. 
.\rnistrong. He .sold it to James Ewing, and he to W. F. 
Pidgeon. Flavins T*idgeon inherited and .^^old it to the 
ju'esent owner. Mr. Mdward Shepard, who has expended 
mncli time :ind nioiny in making repairs an<l Irving to 
restore to the old mansion some of its former Ix^auty and 
attractiveness, for which all lovers of historic places and 
memories f»f piojieer days should be truly thankful. We 
hojie its pristine glory may be regained and it continue to 
be an iniei'esting I'rlic in our city for ages to come. 



Chapter XIII. 

FACTS AND LEGENDS— POPULATON. 

HAVIISTG often been asked about the population of 
the town, especially in its early existence, the 
author subjoins the following, believing it sub- 
stantially sets forth the facts: 

The first census recorded was taken in 1769. 

1769. When it was 69 

1777. Lieutenant - Governor Edward Abbot's report 

gives 250 

1800. The next report was by United States Govern- 
ment: Males, 373; females, 333; slaves, 8; 
total 714 

1810. Males, 336; females, 829; slaves, 5; total 670 

The census in the next three decades gives the town and 
county together, the town being estimated at one-fifth of 
the total population. 

1820. Whole county.. 5,315. Town estimated at . . 1,029. 
1880. Whole county.. 6,557. Town estimated at . . 1,311. 
1840. Wliole county.. 10, 657. Town estimated at. . 2,131. 
1850. Vincennes population, separately taken, was 2,070. 
1860. Vincennes population, separately taken, was 3,960. 
1870. Vincennes population, separately taken, was 5,488. 
1880. Vincennes population, separately taken, was 7,680.. 
1890. Vincennes population, separately taken, was 8,860, 
1900. Vincennes population, separately taken, was 10,249'. 

It will be observed that the increase of the population 
for the four last decades has advanced with increasing 

[18] -273— 



274 IIISTORR'AL SKETCHES 

iiiijx'tus. ami tlic iiKTcasc diiriiiii I'.Md ami llM):i will he 
(tne Immlri'd jut tviit. greater than the late preceding vears, 
and the uutltHik is promising for a grtaier increase in th.' 
immediate fjitnre. X<>t a honse is f<»r rent, hnildings an 
rapidly going uj), and the population, estimated on tin 
school enumeration, now exceeds 12,000. 

VINCENNES' FIRST THEATRE. 

Ilistrtrv tells us that a theatre was huilt here about the 
year 1S(H;, on the corner of Broadway an<l Water streets, 
hy John Rice Jont^, an attorney, otHcial and politician. 
It was first occupie<l in 180", when the play was "Drown- 
ing Men ( 'atch at Straws.''- A singulai- coincidence haj)- 
pened on the evening «•!' the opening, in the <lvi)wniiiL: 
of a citizen, Robert M. Douglas. 

That a theatre should be started in this place in the long, 
long ago days, environed by the wilderness of the North- 
west, far away from civilization, need not lx» wondere^l at, 
since all the world's a st^ige, as some <»ne has said, and in 
■every day life |XH)ple are but the actors. If tliis phrase 
were transposi^l to read, *Vln all tlie world there is a stag(\" 
the aphorism would l)e e<jually true; as in savage and 
lieathen land.s, people may l)e found acting the various 
roles, from serio-coujic to veritable tragic, — fr()m tbe In- 
dian war-dance to the refined trage(li(*s and comedi<'s ot' 
njiMleni times. Human nature is the same with all ])eople> 
and in all (limes, and the craving for recreation, novelty 
and variety seems innate in the human creature. '\\ little 
nonsense now and then is relishe<l liy the Ix^st of men ;" ".Ml 

* Hiatory of K'nox County, p. 244. 



OLD VIXCENNES. 275 

work and nO' play makes Jack a dull bov," and ''Variety is 
the spice of life," are axioms voiced all along upon the 
waves of expressed thought. Excessive labor and serious, 
prolonged study are inimical to man's terrestrial hap])i- 
ness. The bow, long over-bent, loses its elasticity, and 
ceases to respond to the light touch of the skilled archer. 
After diving into serious problems of everyday life, sub- 
jects of lighter vein bring rest to the mind and zest to the 
passing hours. 

It seems that the playwrights of the olden days did not 
seize upon the episode of the raising of the first flag over 
Sackville as one suitable to the times, and it was left for 
others to exploit the reported act, in the play of ''Alice of 
Old Vincennes." 

The lighter vaudeville plays were in vogue in rural dis- 
tricts in those early days. 

Evolution has wrought some changes in the character of 
them, but light comedy roles will continue to be favor- 
ites with the masses as long as a good, hearty laugh is en- 
joyed. 

It is a singular fact that the present McJimsey's 
(Green's) Theatre should occupy an adjoining lot to the 
first one, built nearly a century ago. 

THE OLD FERRY. 

One of the oldest and most important institutions of the 
city sixty years ago was the ferry. Originally the canoe 
was the chief mode by which the citizens crossed the Wa- 
bash, but, very early in the nineteenth centuiy, a way was 
devised far superior to the canoe or pirouge, in ease, celer- 
ity, safety and accommodation, as horses, carriages and 



276 JUSTOKK AT. SKKTCTTES 

stock of all kinds could be transiwrted bv a boat propcllod 
bv self-adjusting^ apparatus, which created a water power. 
The first license for a ferry was granted to Colonel Francis 
Vigo, February 16, 1805, ''from his land on the north- 
west side of th<' Wabash river and opiX)site to the txnvn of 
Viucenncs, across the said river."* There were two ferries 
three-<piarters of a centurv ag(» — one at the foot of ^lain 
street and the ttthcr at the foot of Broadway street. These 
boats were prol)ably forty feet in length and ten feet wide ; 
the sides were of single pieces of broad, thick timbers, 
shaped at the ends like a canoe, with flat bottom of thick 
planks. Tlic inachinery of the motive ]X)wer was simple, 
but not very easily descrilx^l. ^V buoy was anchored a hun- 
dred or more feet above the track of the lx>at, in the middle 
of the stream, to which a stout wire cable was attached, 
running from the center of the boat; another wire was at- 
tached to the one up stream, one end being unattached, 
reaching to the lM>at, which could Ik.' changed to either end. 
A broad movable plank was connected at each end, on the 
up]x»r side, which could l)e lowered below the boat, or raise<l 
to tile surface of the water, at will, by a lever. By heading 
one end of the lx)at up stream, and shortening the loose 
reversible wire, keeping it tAUt, and lowering the plank at 
the other end, the current of the stream gave impetus to 
the lx)at and carrie<l it silently and swiftly to the opposite 
shore. The retuni trip was made as quickly by a reversal 
of the appliances, 

Ks(piire James Gibson kept the lower ferry an<l Ksi|uire 
Thomas BaiU-y ran the Broadway street ferry. Tlie latter 
lived on the opposite side of tlie river, just Ik'Iow \\iv B. 

' Indinna Territorial .tournnl, p. 126. 



OLD VINCENNES. 277 

& O. S. W. railway bridge, opposite Hart street, in a brick 
house. Tradition tells of an annising episode, with a tragic 
side, connected with the latter ferryman. Being a widower, 
Bailey took it into his head to get himself a second better 
half. * 

In those days charivaris were conmion following wed- 
dings with widowers, and especially so with those who mar- 
ried again before the conventional time had elapsed after 
the death of their consorts. If the groom in this case had 
violated cnstom it is not known, but if he had, he i^erhaps 
had heard of that precedent set by Father Whitaker, a 
rather eccentric and celebrated Methodist circuit rider, 
which had occurred about this time in Kentucky. 

Father Wliitaker Avas blessed with a good-sized family 
of small children, and, having had the misfortune of losing 
his helpmeet, and his labor of circuit rider taking him 
from home a gTeat deal of his time, when his little family 
were left without protection or help, he concluded it was 
his duty to take unto himself a "better half" who could 
look after their wants in his absence, remembering, no 
doubt, the divine injunction, "He who will not provide for 
his household is worse than an infidel." So in a very short 
time after the demise of Mrs. W. he found a good Samari- 
tan woman who was willing to share his troubles and joys 
with him, and they were married. Some of the sisters and 
brothers of the church were shocked at the hastiness of the 
preacher, and, when Conference next met, he was cited to 
appear and sliow^ cause for his unseemly behavior, which 
was calculated to bring scandal on his church. When ar- 
raigiied by the prosecutor for his action. Brother Whitaker 
pleaded, first, that he was compelled to be absent from his 



278 IMS'l'dllK AL SKI'/l'i IIKS 

helpless c'liiKlren while serving his cliurch iniich of the 
time, who nee<le<l c^ire; secoinl, that he was Ux> ixx>r to 
iiire a hoiisekeej)er, and, lastlv, that "Sookey n<)ney" was 
just as (h-a<l in tlircc weeks as she winiM he in three vcars. 

These arpunents appealed with siieh fnire that eonvic- 
tion was out of the (piestion, and the hrother was «2:ivi'?i a 
clean hill of aequittal. 

So, on the eventful eveiiinir, while the hridal party was 
at the heijjht of its enjoyment, some French Ikas cross<'d 
over to the house to jfive the jrroom and l)rid(^ the usual 
charivari. Becoming too annoying, the groom intriHhiced 
his <iM fowling )•!(•<•(■ and tired into the midst of the revel- 
<'rs. AUhough none were seriously injured hv the charge, 
tin* merrymakers l»ecame ineense<l, recrossed the river and 
prneure(| ;iii old suH •< >thd)ni-(' cannon, loa<led with powder 
and hall. aii<l, ]>lacing it in position, hlazed away at tla^ 
house of the gnnim. A trtice was then declaretl, a protocol 
signed, and the white-winged dove of ]u>ace again hovered 
over the wimpling waters of the \Vaha>h, the dance was 
resjuiied, and the hritlal festivities ]U'oceede(l without fur- 
ther distnrhance. 

THE PRIMEVAL CONVEYANCE. 

The memory of the oldest iidiahitant, nor oven tra- 
diti«»n, runnetii hack to the time when the old ''French 
cart." the ]>rimitive mode of conveyance, first made its ad- 
vent in N'incennes. It was uni»|ue in its character and a|)- 
])earance, and its mod<d may have Ikhmi (tne (»f the relics 
saved from Xoah's ark, whicli rested on Ararat at the suh- 
sidence of the tl(u»<l. This c;irt was the first UKxle of con- 
veyance introduced to lessen the hurthcns of the F^rench 
])ioneers. soon after the first seTtlement of tlu^ village, in 



OLD VIXCENNES. 279 

1732. The present two-wheeled cart and ohl gig have some 
resemblance to its size, shape and capacity, save that its 
body was of greater size, and it was nncovered and nn- 
seated. It seems to have been designed by its patentee, if 
its originator conhl be so called, to act as a family carriage, 
as Avell as a truck and wood carrier. When used as a car- 
riage, chairs and stools were set in it for the occupants, 
Avhich could be removed when a load of corn or wood was 
to l>e hauled. Its composition was entirely of wood, in- 
cluding wheels, body and shafts, and the Canadian pony, 
its motor power, was rigged with a bridle and harness of 
ropes. In reference to this old mode of conveyance, Judge 
Law, in his article describing worshippers coming from 
church, has this to say : "On 'fast' days might be seen the 
patriarch of his flock, with blanket capot, a blue cotton 
handkerchief around his head, with a pipe in his mouth, 
and with his family seated in chairs, in his untired cart, 
which had never known the use of iron, drawn by a Cana- 
dian pony, and conveying his generation, as his fathers be- 
fore him had done in theirs," etc. 

The use of this cart and its equipment obtained, with 
slight alteration, up to the middle of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, and its ai:)pearance is embalmed in the writer's first 
recollections of the Vincennes of fifty years ago. Just when 
it made its first appearance and its final exit is not exactly 
known, but, like many other things and customs, it gave 
way in the evolution of time, to something better and more 
in accordance with the thought and genius of the age. The 
old ox cart followed "the one-horse shay"; next, the light 
two-horse wag"on, and that by the ponderous six-horse 
wagon, with top ribbed and covered, not very unlike a 
river schooner. These wagons were the carriers of goods 



280 IllS'lOlMl Al. SRKTeliES 

from the iiipreantile (le|M)ts, which obtained until the mid- 
dle of tlie past ccntnrv, when thev ^ave way U^ the iron 
horse and ears. An<l now steam seems to be gradually <;iv- 
ing way to the mightier iiiotur pnwi-r. electricity. As to the 
advance in the construction of wheeled conveyances, in- 
cludiii<r the newcomer, the automobile, the writer would 
say that half a century ago there were only two or three 
carriages, and n<>t excelling half a dozen buggies in the 
town, horseback and wagons being the almost universal 
mo(h' of hmd conveyance. Xow every family has its car- 
riage or l>uggv. an<l even the ohl French patriarch <1 rives 
to tlie city from his c«mntry seat in his lamhui Kehintl a 
span of l)looded thoroughbreds. 

THE DONOVAN BOULDER LEGEND. 

'rihdigh not a l*resi(h'nt of the I'liited States, Jefferson 
l)avis was elected President of one ])ortion tti our country, 
which was calle»l fur a while "The Suuthern Confederacy.'' 
and was (Hiite an able and notable man. Tn early life be 
was a Lieutemint in the American .\i"iiiy, and while in the 
service of his co\mtrv tra«iition says he was stationed at 
Post Vincennes. about the time ('a])tain Zachary Taylor, of 
the I'liite*! States .\riiiy. was. in the line of his dnly, occu- 
pying this jilace. Many years ago a legend obtaintMJ cur- 
rency here to the effect tlnit Captain Taylor ha»l a charming 
young (laughter, .Miss Sarah, who captivated the young 
Lieutenant with lui- charms, ami, while the courtship was 
going on, they fre(|Uently took rides to the country lx'yon<l 
th«' high land-.. About tliis time Mr. .leremiali Donovan, 
a worthy ami int<'lligent young genth^nan who lived liere, 
had a sweiulieart in the <ame neigh l>orhoo<l, by the name of 



OLD VINCENNES. 281 

Wyant, and, while out sparking, would often see his friend 
Davis and Miss Taylor sitting on a large boulder lying- 
in the woods, resting after their jaunt hither; and it seemed 
to be a favorite trysting place, where the passing winds 
wafted the aroma of the clover around and the merry 
^songsters poured forth their love songs to their mates in 
the green swaying branches just above their heads. But 
those halcyon days were not to last always, and. ere the 
•climax was reached, by love's fruition, Captain Taylor 
and family became domiciled at another post. After their 
■departure, Doncjvan, more fortiinate than Davis, wooed and 
won his fair country maiden, and soon became a benedict. 
Love ran not so smoothly with the other couple, as the 
Lieutenant's aspirations met with opposition from the 
young lady's father, and they only succeeded in realizing 
the joys of love's young dream years afterward, by an 
elopement. Davis soon left the army and drifted into poli- 
tics, and subsequently became the chief factor in the revolt 
•of the Southern States, and was chosen their President. 

Many years before Mr. Donovan died (in memory of his 
■old friend Davis, and the episodes on the boulder, and his 
admiration of him and his sweetheart, Miss Taylor, and 
perhaps his own visits to that trysting spot) he had it re- 
moved to his residence in the city, and placed it in the 
front yard, on the corner of Sixth and Broadway streets. 
After his death the property was purchased by Doctor John 
H. Eabb, President of the First ^N^ational Bank, who let 
it remain there perhaps on account of the romantic associa- 
tion with it, and it still lies today on the same spot, after 
the lapse of more than half a century. 

It has been said that this legend has no foundation in 
fact ; that the lady in question was too young to marry at 



282 Ill.S'l'oKllAL SKi:'l"( IIKS 

the tiim- licr lather's jiUc^mI residence was lierc Hut wliat 
has this pmbleiu t<> do with the mniaiiee if It is said Davis 
was onee stationed here, and Miss Sarah (not Jessie, as 
soin«' liavc it ) Tavlnr niav liavc visited liere sid>s*'(|nentl_v 
to the re|M»ried time her father <ic(Mi|>ie(l this ]Kist ; and the 
episoih' inav have oecnrred jnst as ndatecl hy Mr. I)niinvan, 
and the tact that the yuunu lady and the Lieutenant did 
have a eonrtship. an<l did eonsuinniate tlie same l)y an 
elopement, <rives eolor t«> the truth of the lejjend. And the 
well-estahlished fact tliat the narrator of this romance did 
wou. win and marry Miss Wyant at the country farm al- 
linK'd to; did snhseipiently hrinii liis hride t4> the city, and, 
years afterward, transfer the old trysiine' ston<' t»» his front 
yard, also jrives coloi- tn the pr<ihaliilit v of the truth of the 
fouudatiiiu of the Iciicnil. Now, let me ask what nhjeet Mr. 
I'oiiovan had in ^oin^' to the troidde and exiM-ns*^' of remov- 
ing an nni)rej>ossessin_ii-looking, unshapely boulder to his 
front yard, if some romance or sonic pkyising reminiscence 
was not connected v»ith it which he wishetl to perpetuate? 

The writer thinks the romance stands on a better founda- 
tion than one-half of the fables that have btvu palnunl off 
here on the people the ])ast few years as veritable hist«»ry. 

Many ])assers-by, on viewiuir the rude monumental stone 
<d' Nature's handiwork, may (piery as t<» the reason why 
that ujrly rock is kept there. If it could only speak it would 
vindicate its riuht <d* ]tresence, with the *'old. old story," 
rehearsi'd to the willin<;- ears of some who have Ioujlt a^o 
iroiie to tlreamland. 

Nature *-oul(l oft a tale unfold 

Of mcm'rios ytnst and things to be, 

If we liad vision, tn beliold. 

And hands to use her nivstic key. 



OLD YIXCEXNES. 383 

LEGEND OF "ALICE OF OLD VINCENNES." 

In writing his superb romance, Maurice Thompson liacl 
to have a heroine worthy of the thrilling episodes occurring 
in the gTcat Xorthwest during the Revolution, and no fault 
can be found with him if she were obtained from the realms 
of fancy, if the impossible is not too gTeatly trenched upon. 
Where fiction takes upon itself the habiliments of reality, 
criticism is impotent of harm, when success is the goal 
aimed at. In cogitating over the threads of romance out 
of which the woof and warp of the story of ''Alice of Old 
Vincennes" Avas to- be constructed, Maurice Thompson 
little dreamed that the wiseacres of this town would at- 
tempt to materialize Alice Roussilon, and identify her wath 
a dashing Creole of a past age ; nevertheless, such has been 
attempted, and with some claims of success, for a while; 
but an image-breaker came along and dashed our fondest 
hopes. We were hopeful when we read the following seem- 
ingly authentic piece of information pertaining to ancient 
history in the Vincennes Commercial, being copied from 
the Terre Haute Express, which last paper derived its in- 
formation from a Logansport paper. Here it is, verbatim: 

''The only man living today who can explain the charac- 
ters in the book, 'xVlice of Old Vincennes,' lives here, in the 
person of Charles B. Laselle, Judge of the Probate Court 
and dean of the Logansport bar. His grandfather was 
the foster-father of 'Alice,' whose real name was Mary 
Shannon, daughter of William Shannon, Captain of a com- 
pany in George Clark's regiment. Mr. Laselle was born in 
Vincennes, over eighty years ago, and knew 'Alice' w^ell ; 
her son, who was named William Shannon, was a playmate 



284 lUSTOKU AL SKKTellKS 

of Mr. Lasclle. The Shannons lived on the west side of 
the river at Vincennes, and, durint; an In<lian rai<l, all the 
in-'inlKM's there<if, except 'Alieo,' were luassaered. Tu this 
Ml-. LnSallc explains whv the iiirl was n(»t killed, a 
]>oiiit which the aiJthor of the Intok, Manriee Thompson, 
fails even to attempt. The old man says that the jrirl, while 
rtinninjr from the savages, cried, *.Mon Dicul moii Dicul' 
and the Indians, believing that she was of FrtMich descent, 
allowed her to live. She fonnd a Intat rea<l_v to cross the 
river, was taken ahoard, and afterward eared for hv the 
residents nf the town, llcr foster-father, known as Gaspard 
Itonssilon in the novel, was no other than Francis Bns- 
seron, the grandfather of Mr. Laselle." 

In the foregoing extract, it will he observed, the state- 
ment is made that Marv Shannon (Alice Konssihm) was 
the oidv one of the family who escape«l in the massacre of 
('aptain William Shannon's family, and that she did so by 
crying as she ran, "Mon l)ienl mon DienI" and that the 
Iii<lians, nnderstanding the expression, and, being friendly 
toward the Fn'iich, let her e.sca])e across the river. F<dlow- 
ing this publication, .Mr. II. A. Fonlks, our esteeme<l fel- 
low-citizen (wh(Kse wife is the daughter of the late A. B. 
Mcl\e<', whose grandmother, Sarah Shannon, was a sister 
of Mary Shannon, the alleged Alice Roussilon), drew the 
old Vigo lJil)le in contradiction, and in which are regis- 
tered two other sisters, one of whom, Klizaln'th Shannon, 
married Colonel Francis Vigo, 'j'his tdd record, in fact, 
shows that there were six chiMren, five Shannon girls and 
a Son, nanie<l William Shannon. Klizal)eth was born March 
'2'), ITT", Sarali in ITT.'i, and Mary (Alice Konssilon) in 
ITTT. S.. it a|»|)e;ir> that the old Vigo IJible record <lestroys 



OLD VINCENNES. 285 

the identity of Marv Shannon with Thompson's heroine. 
While this is so, the author had some foundation for some 
of the characters intro'duced in his book. At the time of 
the capture of Vincennes by Clark there was a Frenchman 
here who was Mayor, or C-hief Civil Officer of the old tovm, 
by the name of Francoise Busseron, after whom a street in 
the city and a township in the county liaye been named, 
and who was commissioned a Captain in the militia by 
Clark, before or just after the capture of the to-wn. The 
positions he held and the name are so much like that of 
Gaspard Roussilon that it might have been taken by 
Thompson as the basis of the latter character. Another 
item in the make-up of the plot is the significant one that 
Mary Shannon (Alice) was an orphan child and an 
adopted daughter of Captain Busseron. The drawing of 
the record on Mary Shannon bars her from actual partici- 
pation in the flag-raising over Fort Sackville, as she was 
just two years old on that memorable occasion. But I 
doubt not at that particular time she was cooing "Yankee 
Doodle" in her little cradle and keeping time with her 
chubby feet to the music of the fife and drum. So, if 
she did not perfonn all the heroic and patriotic acts 
attributed to her, it was no fault of hers. Father Time 
had just delayed her birth a few years too long for that 
episode. As to Mary Shannon, the reputed Alice, the au- 
thor (Thompson) does not claim great beauty for her, 
when she was "sweet sixteen," but the reason for that was, 
doubtless, owing to the source of his informant, he being a 
discarded lover, or one whose aesthetic taste could not 
appreciate the highest types of beauty. A gentleman of 
discernment, yet living, Avho knew Alice when he was a 



2H(; illSToincAL SKKTCllKS 

boy, says, in relation to this subject: **Ju(ls::in<r from her 
ap|)earanee in niicMle ap:e. slie must have been a beautiful 
•rirl. The most prominent features of her eharaeter were 
that she was very iudepcinleiit and kimlly. She was. in 
fact, sueh a wonum that the men would have called her *a 
jirand ohl lady,' and the w<)men, 'a sweet old lady.' " The 
anachronism conimitte<l by the author in makiui; out the 
case of Alice was justifiable, as life is often prosy without 
the spice of romance addetl to it to «>;ive it zest. It must be 
taken for irranted that she was all the poet's fancy painted 
her, in the |»ortraiture given of her physique and character. 
She was a dashinp; beauty, an expert with a f(»il, a crack 
shot with a ])istol or rifle, an<l a fidl match with ('u]>id in 
wielding his bow and arrow, in his skirmishing raids for 
tr<i]»hies of the genus lioino. 



OLD VINCENNES. 287 



ALICE OF OLD VINCENNES. 



In the village, Che-pe-ko-ke, 

In the times long past and gone, 
Nestled, on the Ouabache river. 

Lived brave Alice Roussilon. 
Not a flower in valley blooming, 

Not a songbird in the glens 
Was so fair and sweet as Alice, 

Pretty maid of Old Vincennes. 

II. 

Oft she winged the grouse and partridge. 

As from covey up they flew; 
Or, disporting on the water, 

Oft she sculled her bark canoe. 
And by arrow, swiftly speeding, 

As to mark it straightly wends. 
Doe and fawn were often trophies 

Alice bagged, near Old Vincennes. 

in. 

Ere the battle's smoke o'er Sackville 

By the winds were rolled away, 
Lithely sped the maid, unhindered, 

With her flag to crown the fray ; 
Then, to mast rope tightly fastened. 

Up Old Glory high ascends, 
Waving back a kiss to Alice, 

Heroine of Old Vincennes. 

IV. 

Mem'ry, often, us will carry 

On the wings of busy thought 
Back to early years, when Freedom 

'Gainst its foes in triumpli fought; 
Not a spot should now be dearer 

To the liearts of Freedom's friends 
Than the village, Che-pe-ko-ke, 

Home of Alice — Old Vincennes ! 



288 



HISTORICAL SKETCHES 
CONCLUSION. 



I promi^cl that T nvouUI give something new in the 
hist.n- of Old Vincennes, touching its early sottlen.ent or 
foundation, its early churches, forts and institutiot^s, and 
try to hntsh aside the fahles tluit have obtained in relation 
thereto for many generations. How well the promise has 
been ftilfiUed must be decided by my reader., ^^^ult ha^. 
b^n adde.l is incidental t.. tlu- pivotal points ot empiiry, 
mostly sUUistical in character, and may prove vahtablc 
for reference in coming time. Aitiioh. 




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